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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) -- Authorities have released body camera footage showing the tense moments surrounding a shootout between Florida deputies and two children armed with an AK-47 and a shotgun.
The shootout happened Tuesday night in Enterprise, an unincorporated community in Florida's Volusia County. According to deputies, a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl opened fire on deputies after breaking into a home.
The sheriff's office says the incident started when the two children ran away from Florida United Methodist Children’s Home earlier in the evening. Later, while deputies were out searching for the children, a witness reported hearing glass break at a home on Enterprise Osteen Road.
Deputies say they approached the home and saw two figures inside. When they contacted the homeowner, deputies learned no one was supposed to be in the house and there was "a handgun, a shotgun and an AK-47 inside, along with a large amount of ammunition."
After speaking with the homeowner, deputies surrounded the home and started making announcements to try and contact whoever was inside. That's when the sheriff's office says the children started shooting at deputies.
According to the sheriff's office, the 12-year-old boy was armed with an AK-47 and the 14-year-old girl was armed with a shotgun. Deputies say the children shot at them four separate times throughout the incident.
The 14-year-old girl was eventually shot when she came out of the garage and pointed the shotgun at deputies, according to the sheriff's office. The boy surrendered.
According to a post on the sheriff's office Facebook page, the 14-year-old girl was taken to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. She was out of surgery and in "stable condition" as of Tuesday night, the post says.
"Deputies did everything they could tonight to de-escalate, and they almost lost their lives to a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old," Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said. "If it wasn’t for their training and their supervision…somebody would have ended up dead."
Both children are facing charges of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer and armed burglary.
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