They Were Children': 7 & 11 Year Old Boys Attempt Armed Robbery in Oregon Church Parking Lot

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(TheBlaze/AP) -- Every once in a while you come across a story that makes you concerned for the future of your nation.  Thievery has been around since the beginning of time, but police related the details Sunday of a unique case.

Apparently two young boys, ages 7 and 11, tried to rob a woman in a church parking lot in Oregon.

AP

The 22-year-old woman was in her family's truck waiting for her parents, Portland police said in a statement, when the young boys approached her with a gun.

Ami Garrett of southeast Portland told officers that when the boys approached her, the younger boy told the older boy to "show her your piece" before demanding her car.

Image: KATU-TV -- One of the boys leaves the scene

When she refused to give them her vehicle, assuming the gun was fake, they reportedly demanded cash and her phone.

"They were children," Garrett recalled on Sunday, according to Oregon Live. "I didn't think they'd actually have a real gun."

But when one of the boys grabbed her arm and began waving the weapon, saying he was going to "blow [her] brains out," Garrett said her heart began to race and she knew it was time to pull away to safety.

Thankfully, the boys were apprehended in the parking lot by officers responding to reports of children with guns.

Police said they recovered a loaded .22 caliber handgun from the older boy's pockets, after initial resistance.

Detectives are investigating how the boys obtained a gun, and where exactly their parents were.  Because of their age, the boys could not be taken into custody at a juvenile detention center, so they were returned to their families.

The 11-year-old tried to escape his parents' house shortly thereafter, but was quickly caught by officers and returned to his parents.