Police in Michigan say four girls managed to fight off a man who assaulted them over the weekend by throwing hot coffee on him.
The girls, ages 11 to 14, were leaving a gas station convenience store in Millington, Michigan, last week when a man grabbed one of the girls by the hair and attempted to kidnap her, according to police.
Officers with the Millington Police Department said the suspect, identified as 22-year-old Bruce Hipkins, followed the girls last Friday night and eventually grabbed one them “around the head and told her she was coming with him.”
Bruce Hipkins was arrested on charges of unlawful imprisonment, assault and battery and two counts of criminal sexual conduct, police said.
“The other three girls kicked, hit, and threw their hot coffee on him,” the department said in a statement Saturday. “The suspect let the young girl go and grabbed another one of the girls by her hair. The suspect was again kicked and hit by the girls until he let her go and fled on foot.”
Two of the girls, sisters Allison, 11, and Lauren Eickhoff, 13, described the scary ordeal in an interview with Flint ABC affiliate WJRT on Monday.
"He said, 'You're coming with me.' And like, he grabbed my face," Allison added. "This cannot be happening; I thought it was a test at first, but then I'm like, 'This is real.'"
Lauren said she screamed and immediately jumped into action. She said their father told them to fight back whenever they felt they might be in danger.
"I grabbed my drink and chucked it at his head. I tried, I punched him in the head," Lauren said. “Seeing that your little sister was going to get taken is very scary."
The girls escaped to a nearby hotel and called for help. There were no injuries reported.
Officers caught up with Hipkins later on and arrested him on charges of unlawful imprisonment, assault and battery and two counts of criminal sexual conduct, police said.
Hipkins is being held at the Tuscola County Jail on a $250,000 bond. It was unclear if he had obtained an attorney as of early Tuesday.
Drew2248 on August 14th, 2018 at 20:11 UTC »
If you have daughters, teach them how to fight back -- and I mean fight "dirty" as that's the best way to injure someone and get them to give up:
Don't try to grab the attacker's hands as they'll be too big and too strong. Instead grab their little finger (or any finger) and pull it back as hard as you can and try to break it.
Using your open palm shove your hand upwards into their nose. This will likely break the nose and cause a major nosebleed.
Drive your knee into their genitals as hard as you can.
Step hard on the top of their foot. If you are wearing hard shoes, it will hurt like hell.
Poke your finger into their eye. It hurts like crazy.
Your elbow is a good weapon, much better than your hand sometimes. Elbow them as hard as you can.
Scream like bloody murder. Yelling "Fire!" will attract attention but so will "Rape!" Yelling "Help!" is too common and may not work, though it's what everyone yells.
NEVER get into someone's car. Fight like hell to stay out of a car. If you are forced into a car, do everything you can to impede the driver from driving -- take his keys away and throw them out the window, turn off the engine with the keys or the "engine" button, shift the transmission, grab his little finger and break it. Hit him in the head with your elbow as hard as you can. Punch him hard in the genitals. Poke your finger in his eye. He's taking you to be raped and perhaps murdered, so do not hold back even a little bit.
Roll the window down and scream. Try to climb out. Open the door at low speed and roll out of the car. You'll be injured but it's better than being raped or murdered. If you get out of the car, run like crazy to any occupied building -- or run into traffic and force vehicles to stop.
Kick out the windshield as hard as you can.
Beep the horn repeatedly.
Gullex on August 14th, 2018 at 19:15 UTC »
Someone said this on Reddit recently, and it makes sense.
If someone's trying to kidnap you, fight back, and keep fighting with everything you've got.
Even if they kill you, it's better than what they're planning to do with you when they get you alone.
artimits on August 14th, 2018 at 18:40 UTC »
Improvising under pressure is one of the best skills to have.