Owen's mother had banned his slingshot. He had a habit of breaking things with it around the house, so she took it away. At some point, he got it back. And on a Wednesday afternoon in Alpena Township, Michigan, that slingshot is the reason his little sister is alive.

His sister had gone outside to look for mushrooms near their home. Owen was inside playing video games when he heard a scream. He let it go. Kids scream. Then a second scream came, and something in it was different enough that he moved.

Two Shots From 200 Feet

What Owen found outside was a man trying to take his sister. He grabbed his slingshot, loaded a green marble, and fired from approximately 200 feet away. It hit the suspect in the forehead. He loaded again, this time with a gravel rock, and fired a second shot that connected with the man's chest. The suspect released his sister and ran.

State police Lt. John Grimshaw later said Owen "saved his sister's either life or from something seriously bad happening to her." That assessment was not made lightly. When investigators caught up with the suspect, Noah Adkins, they found him hiding at a nearby gas station. He was still carrying the injuries. Those slingshot wounds are what helped police identify and connect him to the scene.

What Adkins Told Police

Adkins did not deny what he had planned. He confessed to police that he had intended to severely beat his victim. He was booked in Alpena County on a $150,000 bond. He later pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping-child enticement and one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder. His sentence: 13 months to five years in prison.

The Saturday After

Owen's mother Margaret noted that her daughter turned 8 years old the Saturday after the Wednesday incident. Both parents described their son as someone they are "extremely proud and forever grateful" for.

Owen, for his part, told reporters he was just lucky. He was a kid who played video games, owned a slingshot his mom had taken away, and heard a scream that did not sound right. He fired twice from the length of two-thirds of a football field and hit a moving target both times.

Noah Adkins was sentenced. Owen's sister made it to her birthday. The slingshot that was banned for breaking things around the house broke something that mattered.