Photo: Twitter
The brave teen chose fight over flight.
By Dan O'Reilly — Written on Apr 18, 2022
One of the worst nightmares that anyone can have is having a break-in, particularly if there is no one else around. That nightmare became a reality for one teen girl after she heard a noise early in the morning on Friday, April 15th, 2022.
Avery Cormier, a 14-year-old living with her parents in her Massachusetts home, was shocked to find that her house had been broken into early on Friday.
The Massachusetts teen managed to defend her home from the intruder using a knife.
Cormier was the only one home when she came face to face with the intruder, 58-year-old Joseph Ridge.
In the chaos and panic of the moment, Cormier chose fight over flight and, according to both police and her parents, armed herself to face down the full-grown man that had broken into her home.
Dianne Tautkus, Cormier’s mother, later said of the incident, “I really didn't realize that she had it in her to stay so calm under fire. [She] grabbed two kitchen steak knives and she went back and stood outside the door and started screaming at him 'Get out of my house. Get out of my house. You don't belong here.'”
Thankfully, Cormier didn’t end up having to use the kitchen knives, as the man fled the scene.
The knife-wielding, screaming teen managed to scare off the intruder.
That would certainly be enough excitement for most people for one day, it’s safe to say that most of us would call the situation resolved at that point, call the police and report the incident, but not Cormier.
The teen was thinking fast and, while the 58-year-old intruder fled to his truck, Cormier grabbed her phone and recorded the intruder leaving the scene in his truck.
Included in the video, was information that might help police find and capture the man.
Cormier recorded and relayed the intruder’s license plate to the police.
Once Ridge had fled, Cormier called the police to report the break-in. Cormier got in contact with the police and told them, “I got him out of the house. I scared him. I took a video of his truck leaving so I have his license plate number.”
Police found and arrested Ridge shortly thereafter and later stated that he was known to police and was actually out on bail following a different incident. The 58-year-old has been charged with aggravated breaking and entering during the daytime.
Police Chief Joeseph Perkins later said of Cormier’s actions during the break-in, “I would like to commend the courageous actions of this girl. Even in the midst of an extremely scary event, her bravery assisted us in identifying the man believed to be responsible for breaking into her home.”
Dan O'Reilly is a writer who covers news, politics, and social justice. Follow him on Twitter.