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'Where Have We Gone Wrong': Sheriff On 14-Year-Old Girl, 12-Year-Old Boy Shooting At Deputies

MIAMI (CBSMiami/CNN) - Sheriff's deputies in Volusia County were forced to fire on a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy after they reportedly opened fire on them from a home they broke into.

The sheriff's office said the foster kids ran away from a juvenile home on Tuesday. They broke into a house where they found an AK-47, a pump shotgun, a handgun, and 200 rounds of ammunition. When deputies arrived, the children shot at them.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said they tried to negotiate with the children to stop for two hours.

"Our deputies did everything they could tonight to deescalate and they almost lost their lives to a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old," said Chitwood. "Where have we gone wrong that 12-year-old and 14-year-old think it's okay to take on law enforcement? What the hell is the Department of Juvenile Justice doing sending these kids to places that can't handle them?"

Deputies eventually returned fire, hitting the girl in the abdomen and arm. After the girl was shot, the boy dropped the AK-47. He wasn't hurt and no deputies were injured.

The girl is now hospitalized. Both children have been charged with the attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.

(©2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company, contributed to this report.)

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