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TECUMSEH, Okla. (KFOR/KAUT) -- Counterfeit cash, a stolen car and drugs have been found - after a 13-year-old helps halt an armed robbery at an Oklahoma Family Dollar.
It all started with what was supposed to be a quick trip to the Family Dollar. As soon as the teen, Braydon Self, and his stepdad walked in - they were faced with the robbery unfolding in front of them.
"The first thing I saw was the guy aiming a pistol at [my stepdad]," Self said.
While the gun was trained on him, Self took off.
"I ran to the back, and I looked at the back door, and I was like I want to go in there," he said, "and I called the cops."
It was a desperate call made while huddled in the back stock room. Self said he was forced to overcome fear for his stepfather and himself.
Just a couple minutes after Self made the call, police arrived. The gunman, identified by police as Trey Harlin-Sumlin, fled out the back door.
Self heard his stepfather going to find him but, not knowing who it was, he feared it was Harlin-Sumlin coming after him.
"I was like, oh man, that better not be him," he said. "I felt like I was going to get killed."
It didn't take long for police to identify Harlin-Sumlin and arrest him at his home, where they found more than just the stolen cash.
"They found counterfeit money, drugs and drug paraphernalia, and a stolen vehicle," said Tecumseh Police Chief JR Kidney.
It was a major break, and lives were possibly saved - the magnitude of which rendering the young hero nearly speechless.
"It's hard to explain," Self said. "I was very happy that he didn't get killed or me."
Charges against Harlin-Sumlin include robbery, forgery and possession of stolen property.
