Police: Runaway, 13, steals gun, kidnaps child, crashes car in crime spree

A 13-year-old ran away from a group home with a 9-year-old in Spokane Valley on Thursday evening, stealing a loaded gun and a car he crashed after forcing the younger child inside at gunpoint, police said.

The two boys left the home around 5 p.m. and ended up at the Mirabeau Park Hotel and Convention Center, where the older boy stole a loaded Glock 23 from a parked truck, according to a news release from the Spokane Valley Police Department.

The pair walked an additional 6 miles to Thierman Road, where the 13-year-old stole a black Mazda and forced the 9-year-old into the car at gunpoint, the release says.

As he was driving the car, the older boy eventually crashed into the center median of I-90 near Geiger Boulevard and Grove Road. Neither child was hurt.

Both kids walked south along Grove, the release states, and police believe the 13-year-old shot the gun three times. He threw the gun into a bush before deputies and officers arrived, called by a pair of witnesses just after 3 a.m. Friday.

The 13-year-old was arrested on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, each felony charges. He was booked into the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Center.

The investigation remains active, the news release says, and deputies are looking to find the owners of the pistol and the Mazda.