A 12-year-old girl from Central Florida said she was terrified to wake up Monday morning to find a burglar in her room. But, she will also tell you she remained calm, cool, and collected.
Her grandparents think her calm demeanor helped keep her safe. The child, Paris Hall, thinks so too.
“I feel like if I would’ve got scared, he would’ve got scared,” Paris said.
Paris was home alone and said she heard her light switch turn on around 9 a.m. Monday. At first, she thought a family member was in her room. Then she saw a man she didn’t recognize.
“I had rolled over and I saw some stranger looking behind my TV, so I was kind of confused and said ‘Excuse me, what are you doing?’ I had an old phone that doesn’t work. It was sitting on my dresser. So, I guess, he looked at that and made up an excuse; 'Oh my uncle told me to come get my phone’ and in my mind, I was thinking OK. I guess my granddad must be his uncle.”
She still told the man to leave. When he went out the back door she was even more confused. Then she saw the kitchen window was shattered.
“I put two and two together and figured my granddad wasn’t his uncle,” Paris said. “I was very scared at that point I didn’t know what to do.”
She called for help. Her granddad told her to run to a neighbors house and call 911. When she ran out the front door, the man was waiting for her.
“He was standing in the front yard and he asked me, 'What time do your parents get back home?’ I was really calm about it because I didn’t want to trigger him or alarm him. He said, ‘Do you want to come outside and chill with me for a little while?’ Then I went in the house and got a knife and then I told him to leave. I went over to the neighbor's house. I was scared. I was crying. My heart was beating.”
Paris is scared to be in the house alone or sleep by herself. She hopes someone will recognize the man and call police.
The suspect is described as a black man about 5 feet 7 inches, short hair wearing a white hat, partial facial hair, white shirt with red-and-blue stripes, acid-washed shorts and red, white and blue Air Jordan shoes.
If you have any information on the identity of the suspect contact Detective Metz at 863-678-4223.
