8-Year-Old Girl Helps Father Fend Off Attempted Robber at Minn. Liquor Store: ‘She's Strong’

Kimberlee Speakman

August 14, 2024 at 11:04 a.m.·3 min read

Police in Ramsey County said Conchobhar Joseph Morrell was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted aggravated robbery

<p>Ramsey County Jail</p> Conchobhar — Ramsey County Jail
Conchobhar 'Conor' Joseph Morrell

An attempted robbery in Minnesota was thwarted — all thanks in part to an 8-year-old girl and her bat, according to multiple sources.

Police in Ramsey County said Conchobhar Joseph Morrell, 37, was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted aggravated robbery after he allegedly attempted to rob a liquor store in Maplewood, Minn. according to KARE11, KSTP-TV and The Star Tribune.

Police responded to a report of an armed robbery around 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, Aug. 10, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the outlets.

When they arrived on the scene, an employee told them that a man — identified as Morrell — laid a bottle of liquor and a firearm on the counter and told the employee to hand over "everything.” The employee alleged that he told the man that he would do it if he put the gun away since his 8-year-old daughter was present, the outlets reported.

However, Morrell allegedly eventually went behind the counter, prompting the employee to punch the man and try to wrestle the gun from him, per the reports.

The employee, who identified himself as Leo, told CBS News that he acted out of concern for his daughter's safety, as she was behind the counter with him. He told the outlet, "I'm a dad, I'm not going to let that happen."

Video surveillance obtained from the store showed the 8-year-old grab an aluminum baseball bat and hit Morrell multiple times in the head as the two men tried to grab the weapon, per The Star Tribune. Morrell eventually fled the scene and headed north without his gun.

Leo told CBS News that he was shocked that his daughter stepped in to help him. "That day, I just wanted to cry. When I saw the video, I didn't expect she'd do that," he said. "I expect a little girl crying, screaming."

Police recovered the firearm, a BB replica of a Sig Sauer .45 caliber, from the store and arrested Morrell several hundred feet from the location after he briefly resisted arrest, according to KARE11.

The store clerk identified Morrell to police as the man who had attempted to rob his store, though the man denied being there, according to the outlets. Morrell — whose mugshot, obtained by KARE11 and KSTP-TV, showed a scrape below one of his eyes — also told police that the injuries came from an altercation two days prior.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department and Ramsey County Attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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The store clerk told The Star Tribune that his daughter had been hiding in the shop during the alleged attempted robbery before she intervened, and praised her efforts to help him stave off the robber.

"I'm so proud of her she's so strong," he told CBS News, adding to The Star Tribune. “She’s a good girl.”

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