8-Year-Old Girl Helps Father Fend Off Attempted Robber at Minn. Liquor Store: ‘She's Strong’

Mar. 15, 2025

Conchobhar ‘Conor’ Joseph Morrell.Photo:Ramsey County Jail

Ramsey County Jail

An attempted robbery in Minnesota was thwarted — all thanks in part to an 8-year-old girl and her bat, according to multiple sources.

When they arrived on the scene, an employee told them that a man — identified as Morrell — laid a bottle of liquor and a firearm on the counter and told the employee to hand over “everything.” The employee alleged that he told the man that he would do it if he put the gun away since his 8-year-old daughter was present, the outlets reported.

However, Morrell allegedly eventually went behind the counter, prompting the employee to punch the man and try to wrestle the gun from him, per the reports.

The employee, who identified himself as Leo, toldCBS Newsthat he acted out of concern for his daughter’s safety, as she was behind the counter with him. He told the outlet, “I’m a dad, I’m not going to let that happen.”

Video surveillance obtained from the store showed the 8-year-old grab an aluminum baseball bat and hit Morrell multiple times in the head as the two men tried to grab the weapon, perThe Star Tribune. Morrell eventually fled the scene and headed north without his gun.

Leo told CBS News that he was shocked that his daughter stepped in to help him. “That day, I just wanted to cry. When I saw the video, I didn’t expect she’d do that,” he said. “I expect a little girl crying, screaming.”

Police recovered the firearm, a BB replica of a Sig Sauer .45 caliber, from the store and arrested Morrell several hundred feet from the location after he briefly resisted arrest, according to KARE11.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department and Ramsey County Attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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The store clerk toldThe Star Tribunethat his daughter had been hiding in the shop during the alleged attempted robbery before she intervened, and praised her efforts to help him stave off the robber.

“I’m so proud of her she’s so strong,” he told CBS News, adding toThe Star Tribune. “She’s a good girl.”

source: people.com