A 13-year-old California girl used moves she learned in a martial arts class to fight off a man who attacked her on the way home from school earlier this month, and police are still trying to identify the attacker.
The incident took place in Carmel-by-the-Sea on May 6, KSBW reported.
“Halfway home, a gentleman was standing between two cars, and he stepped out to punch her in the face, and she blocked,” said Michael Blackburn, the teen’s jujitsu teacher for the past three years at the Carmel Youth Center.
“She punched him, she wrapped him, got him (in a) headlock, kneed him a couple times, spun him around, threw him on the ground, and she stepped on his foot,” said Blackburn.
Then, the girl ran home while the attacker was still on the ground.
Carmel Police Commander Todd Trayer said investigators don’t have a lead on the man’s identity, but they did release a sketch.
“We’re doing everything we can to figure out who this person is that’s responsible for what happened,” said Trayer, who added that the attacker “was acting unusual” and may be been under the influence.
Blackburn said he told his student “we’re proud of her, and she did exactly what she was supposed to do.”
“You don’t see it very often where a juvenile is brave like that,” Trayer said. “To have that type of self-confidence, that awareness, to be a quick decision maker and make a decision that’s going to keep themselves safe.”
The 13-year-old girl hopes her story serves as a reminder to other young women that knowing self-defense can save their lives.
Police ask anyone with any information about the person in the sketch or who has any surveillance footage to contact police via email at ttrayer@ci.carmel.ca.us.
