A child who was inside a Florida home during an alleged domestic disturbance helped officers get them and other family members out safely by displaying a sign reading “help us” in the window, investigators said.
Kissimmee Police officers responded to house following the 911 call on Oct. 26 after “family members alerted officers that children were inside the residence and feared for their safety,” according to the Kissimmee Police Department.
A police drone found the children hiding in one room, according to the police.
“[O]ne child bravely held a handwritten note against the window reading ‘HELP US,'” police said.
Police were able to get the children out of the house while Andre Janard Smithson, the alleged suspect, was distracted, according to the Kissimmee PD.
Smithson, 33, “eventually surrendered peacefully” to officers and was arrested on charges of false imprisonment and an outstanding active warrant, according to the police.
He was being held in jail as of Wednesday, according to inmate records. No attorney information for Smithson was immediately available.
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