Real-life 'Home Alone:' 11-year-old stops intruder with machete

MEBANE, N.C. -- It may sound like a scene from the 1990 comedy 'Home Alone,' but for 11-year-old Braydon Smith it was all-too real.

The North Carolina boy is being credited with thwarting an intruder with a machete while he was home alone this past Friday.

The suspect, 19-year-old Jataveon Dashawn Hall, was injured after being hit in the head with the machete and is now in custody.

Police said they received an anonymous tip the burglary suspect broke into Smith's home in Mebane.

Smith said he was on the phone with his mom when the suspect entered through a window.

The 11-year-old told our sister station WTVD that Hall found a pellet gun inside the home and pointed it at him. He told Smith to get in the closet.

Smith, however, said he knew the gun wasn't loaded, but followed the suspect's orders.

The boy then decided to make his move.

"He went into the living room to grab my phone to make sure I didn't call the 911 or anything. When I saw him try to put it in his pocket, I grabbed my machete off of my wall and went to hit him. I hit him in the back of the head," Smith said.

Smith said he bought his machete with gift cards some time ago and normally uses it to chop down trees.

But this time, it was a self-defense weapon.

Smith said it was thanks to a lesson his dad Christopher taught him a few years ago when thieves ransacked their home.

"If they come in the door, you let 'em have it," Christopher Smith said.

Braydon Smith said he was hesitant, but he wasn't scared.

"It went by really fast. I knew I didn't have the time to think about what I was going to do. I just grabbed a weapon in the house and acted with it," Smith said.

Orange County Sheriff's deputies said Hall rushed himself to the hospital but refused further treatment; they said later escaped when he knew authorities were looking for him.

Hall was later captured and taken into custody.

Deputies are still looking for two of Hall's alleged accomplices.

Braydon Smith said he'd feel safer knowing the other two suspects are caught. But he's ready to protect himself again.

"Always have your kids prepared for anything," the boy stated.

Hall has been charged with breaking and entering, second degree kidnapping, interfering with emergency communications and assault on a child under 12.

The 11-year-old had one more message for the intruder.

"You shouldn't have done what you've done. You're better off to get a job than breaking into other people's houses," Braydon Smith said.