12-Year-Old Girl Armed With Baseball Bat Fights Off Home Intruder

Woodland, CA – A 12-year-old girl armed with a baseball bat fought off an intruder as he was trying to force his way into her home last week.

The incident occurred at approximately noon on Dec. 18, while 12-year-old Nyletta Lincoln was home alone, KTXL reported.

Her father, Paul Lincoln, later told the news outlet he had left his daughter alone that day while he went to the store to buy her a throwing axe.

Nyletta said she was listening to music when she heard a strange sound.

“I heard like pounding. I thought it was knocking because I had my headphones in. And when I took my headphones off, I realized that somebody was actually trying to come into the house,” she told KTXL.

The 12-year-old grabbed her baseball bat and headed towards the front door.

“I walked into my living room and saw the lock was busted and he was trying to get in,” she said.

That’s when the suspect spotted her and tried to get her to open the door for him, KTXL reported.

“He said ‘Let me in.’ And I yelled ‘No!’ And I kicked the door into his face,” Nyletta quietly recounted. “I was really scared. But I just knew, I knew he couldn’t come into the house and I knew just to protect my own house. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want him stealing anything in my house. So, I protected it.”

Woodland police rushed to the scene and intercepted the suspect just as he gained entry, Paul told KTXL.

“The chain just let go as soon as they were pulling up. And they were able to get here on time,” he said. “Thank you, Woodland PD. We appreciate you.”

According to the Woodland Police Department (WPD), officers arrested the same suspect on a prowling charge in November after he was found rummaging through trash in someone’s yard, KTXL reported.

Police are also working to determine whether or not the suspect is connected to another break-in that occurred at a home across town on Dec. 15.

During that incident, the residents found a masked man inside their house, KTXL reported.

The suspect fled the scene when they confronted him.

“There are some similarities from the description to this subject and we’ll be following up on that,” WPD Sergeant Victoria Danzl told KTXL.

Officers called Paul after arresting the suspect outside his home and let him know what had occurred and that Nyletta was safe.

Paul said he and Nyletta have had discussions in the past about what to do if someone were to break into their house.

“I’m proud of her. She’s my little Latina-Irish Viking and it’s in our blood,” he told KTXL. “He picked the wrong house. He picked the wrong house with a tougher 12-year-old than me.”