Three children sparked a dramatic police chase before being caught at gunpoint after ‘watching videos on how to hotwire vehicles on YouTube.’
The kids, aged 8, 11 and 12, were stopped in a stolen car in Ohio in the United States before they sped away from officers.
The car – driven by the 11-year-old – soon crashed into the side of a nearby home and the boys fled on foot, police said.
Officers gave chase and soon tracked down the children, who began begging for their mummies.
The kids cowed in fear at gunpoint near a wooden fence as one of the boys is heard saying: ‘I’m sorry. Can you call my mom?”
‘This is my first time in the car,’ one child told officers during the arrest.
‘Well, I could tell by the way that you drove. You suck at driving,’ a copper responded.
One of the young suspects allegedly told authorities that he was going to ‘get coal for Christmas’ because of what they did, police said.
No one was injured and there was only minor damage to the home.
Attention has turned to how the suspects learnt to hotwire a vehicle.
Hotwiring is a method of bypassing a car’s ignition switch to start the engine without a key.
The police say the three children told authorities they first watched a YouTube video which showed them exactly how to steal a car before they went out to try it themselves.
Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy said the kids opened the steering column with a USB device ‘to basically hot wire the car to get it started’, NBC reports.
Chief Majoy told the outlet: ‘I couldn’t believe the amount of videos that exist out there that tell you how to steal a car.
‘That is problematic for law enforcement they should be taking these things down.’
All three kids were returned to their parents and guardians.
Chief Majoy said the 11 and 12-year-olds will be charged for their alleged crimes.
He added: ‘This has got to be a record for the youngest driver in a pursuit that I’ve ever seen.
‘Eleven-years-old, for God’s sake. That’s incredible.’
A juvenile prosecutor will decide whether to bring a case against the 8-year-old.
Metro has approached YouTube for comment.
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