A 13-year-old boy in the Detroit area has been arrested in connection with a series of home break-ins targeting young girls.
Authorities say the teen, whose identity has not been released, is currently being held at a youth detention center.
Police have linked him to at least nine break-ins in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac and two more in Detroit, according to WDIV.
In the most recent incident, a masked suspect dressed in black entered the home of a 10-year-old girl while she slept. Armed with a knife, he allegedly choked the child before fleeing, authorities reported.
The assaults date back to 2022.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard described the incidents as every parent’s worst fear.
“This is the worst nightmare for any parent: that somebody might be trying to climb in through a window to get after their kids, especially a young teenage girl,” Bouchard said, according to WDIV.
Prosecutors in Oakland County, Michigan, are currently reviewing the evidence, while the boy’s parents are cooperating with police.
Monica Smith, the mother of one of the victims, said she is terrified to return home after the attack on her daughter earlier this week.
On February 4, she was jolted awake by the sound of her daughter screaming.
“I’m like, ‘Kaylee, what’s wrong?’ She didn’t say. She kept on screaming,” Smith told WDIV. “I see a guy just shoot out from her room, and then Kaylee started yelling that the guy was choking her.”
Police said the suspect used garbage cans to climb through the window and gain access to the home.
Authorities credit community tips with helping identify the suspect after releasing information about the break-ins.
“The invasion of a child’s bedroom by a threatening intruder is a profoundly disturbing experience, and this incident has understandably caused significant distress among parents of young children,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in a statement. “It appears the suspect was targeting residences of young girls. We will hand this case to the prosecutor for further proceedings, but we wanted to notify the public as soon as possible.”
