A 12-year-old bolted through a bedroom window as a burglar smashed into his Long Island home, triggering a rapid police arrest that left neighbors shaken and relieved.
Police said Tristen Taylor was home alone on Eagle Avenue in Medford when he heard glass break in the kitchen and footsteps moving through the house, a moment that instantly turned an ordinary day into a life-or-death decision.
Taylor realized immediately that staying inside was dangerous and chose escape over confrontation.
“I said, ‘I have to get out the house, the quickest way possible,'” Taylor told CBS News while recalling the seconds after the break-in began.
The seventh grader jumped out of his bedroom window and ran to a detached garage, where he hid and kept his eyes on the house, according to police accounts of the incident.
From his hiding spot, Taylor said he could see a man moving through the home, confirming that the intruder was still inside and reinforcing his decision to stay hidden.
Instead of trying to intervene, Taylor pulled out his phone and called 911, remaining on the line as officers raced toward the scene.
“I was on the phone with them, waiting for them to get here,” Taylor told CBS, describing the tense stretch of time while the suspect remained inside his family’s home.
Police units arrived within minutes and took the suspect into custody inside the residence without incident, bringing the frightening situation to an end.
Officers identified the alleged burglar as Christian Garcia, 53, and said he is homeless.
Investigators stated that Garcia smashed through the kitchen window to gain entry into the house.
Garcia was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools and later pleaded not guilty during his arraignment hearing in Central Islip.
Family members said Taylor’s ability to stay calm under pressure prevented the break-in from turning violent.
A neighbors said the boy’s response mirrored exactly what law enforcement recommends during a home invasion.
Neighbor Mike Campanella reflected on the incident from just steps away. “I would hope my son would have done the same thing,” Campanella told CBS.
“When someone is breaking into the house, caution is to get out and call the police. You just have to be brave and call them.”
The break-in drew comparisons to the 1990s movie Home Alone, which centers on a child left home during the holidays who faces burglars.
Unlike the fictional traps used in the film, Taylor relied on escape and a phone call, a real-world response that ended with an arrest rather than injury.
While the Medford incident ended without injuries, it unfolded during a holiday period marked by other violent encounters tied to home invasions and workplace attacks.
In Michigan, authorities responded to a deadly home invasion in the village of Fowlerville on Christmas Day just after 7 p.m., where a homeowner confronted an alleged armed intruder.
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According to reports noted by the Livingston Daily, the intruder shot the homeowner twice, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The alleged intruder was shot numerous times and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Detroit News reported that the deceased intruder was the estranged husband of an acquaintance visiting the homeowner at the time.
The homeowner was transported to a hospital in Ann Arbor for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
Elsewhere during the holiday week, police in Florida arrested a Salvation Army bell ringer after an alleged violent outburst outside a grocery store.
Steven Pavlik, 63, was arrested at his home and charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest after fleeing the scene outside a Publix in Stuart, Florida.
Pavlik had been stationed outside the store as a bell ringer when deputies said his behavior escalated.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office described the incident in a Christmas Eve Facebook post.
“Steven Pavlik tried his hand at some part-time Christmas charity work — however, drunk ringing, belligerent tidings and assault took him from bell duty to booking blotter after a full-blown charity tirade,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
Deputies said the store manager confronted Pavlik after he allegedly became intoxicated on duty and began aggressively harassing passersby, causing a major disturbance outside the store.
“When the Publix manager came outside to speak to Pavlik, he became violent and attempted to impale the manager with the donation kettle tripod,” the sheriff’s office stated.
Authorities confirmed the manager was not injured. Pavlik fled but was later located at his home and taken into custody.
Back on Long Island, the sense of holiday danger deepened with a deadly stabbing at a CVS store in Lindenhurst.
Police said 23-year-old Edeedson Cine was working at the CVS on the night of Dec. 25 when he was stabbed in the chest.
Officers responding around 6:50 p.m. found Cine critically injured. He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Cine’s brother told News 12 Long Island that the victim had been covering a shift for a friend that night.
Police said the suspect fled on foot but was later arrested. John Pilaccio, 43, was charged with second-degree murder, according to reports citing police, and News 12 reported that he pleaded not guilty.
Authorities allege Pilaccio entered the store and immediately attacked Cine.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney described what investigators say unfolded on surveillance footage.
“The first thing [Pilaccio] did when he got up to the cashier … unfortunately was to attack him,” Tierney told Newsday. “The crime is captured on the video.”
