8-Year-Old Arrested After Stealing Car at Gunpoint and Getting Into Police Chase

An eight-year-old boy in Montgomery, Alabama has been arrested after he robbed a car at gunpoint and then got into a chase with police.

Per WSFA, Maj. Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department said officers responded to reports of a car theft earlier this week. Following a police chase that ended with the child crashing into another vehicle and fleeing on foot, the unidentified minor was taken into custody at the Montgomery County Youth Detention Facility.

He has been charged with first-degree robbery, attempting to elude, and firearm possession. Coleman said the firearm used in the carjacking was recovered by officers at the scene. No injuries were reported, but the child apparently refused to pull over for police during the chase.

“Whenever I realized it was a little boy, I knew I had to follow them and make sure no one got hit and that he got caught because don’t want him driving all over Montgomery, causing more accidents or hurting himself or hurting other people," said witness Snake Knapp, who noted he saw the child pick up two adults at one point during the incident. "I think parents just really need to know where their kids are, what their kids are doing, and just talk to them about these kinds of things."

The news comes less than two months after a 10-year-old stole an SUV and got involved in a car chase with the Michigan State Police. According to authorities in that case, the child took the vehicle in an effort to drive to Detroit to see their mother. When they were pulled over by officers, they attempted to flee on foot before being taken into custody.