7-year-old saves sister after grandfather gets carjacked at gunpoint, family says

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV/Gray News) - A young girl in Tennessee saved her little sister’s life after a man held their grandfather at gunpoint.

WSMV reports that the situation happened Wednesday afternoon when the girls’ grandfather Luis Mena was picking them up from a Nashville-area day care.

According to police, Elijah McDowell was the suspect involved. He is accused of stealing a car at gunpoint before the confrontation with Mena.

Nashville police said McDowell ended up crashing that vehicle on Interstate 440 and ran to a nearby residential area where he spotted the grandfather.

Mena said he was picking up his grandkids from day care when McDowell attempted to steal his car while wearing a ski mask.

According to Mena, McDowell came up behind his pickup truck that also had his two granddaughters, 7-year-old Amy and 3-year-old Stephanie, in the back seat.

Mena said McDowell opened the door and demanded he get out.

“We started fighting,” Mena said. “He grabbed me from my T-shirt and threw me to the ground.”

Mena said he was knocked unconscious as McDowell took off in his truck.

“What made me conscious again was when one of my little kids cried,” Mena said. “That was my biggest worry, not only was my truck getting stolen, but with my girls in it.”

He said the cry sounded like it came from nearby and realized Amy had just saved her sister.

“When I was fighting with the guy she jumped from the truck and pulled her sister out so they could escape,” Mena said.

Mena said he thanks God for Amy’s intelligence.

“The materialistic things come and go. But my girls don’t,” he said.

Police said McDowell was later taken into custody after a pursuit. He is facing multiple charges and has been convicted of violent felonies before in Rutherford County.

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