(Nov. 9) -- "I didn't want my little brothers to die."
That's how fourth-grader Malik Medford explained his gutsy response to an attempted carjacking in Charleston, W.Va., Wednesday night.
His mother left Malik, 9, and his younger brothers, ages 3, 19 months and 4 months, in the car while she went into a convenience store to get a drink. While she was away, Jonathan Martin yanked open the car door, according to police.
"He told me to get out, but I didn't get out," Malik said in a WCHS-TV interview. He fought back because he feared for the lives of his brothers.
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Note: Although TV reports called him Malik Youngblood, court records listed his last name as Medford.
Malik pulled the keys out of the ignition and tried to keep them away from the attacker as he struggled with the man.
"He banged my head against the door," the boy said. But Malik held on to the keys and ran into the store to get help.
The foiled carjacker ran, too. But he tripped in a nearby parking lot and lay there until police arrived, reported WSAZ, another local television station.
According to court records, Martin told the arresting officer: "I was trying to take the car. I know I'm stupid ... I knew the kids were there. Sorry."
Martin, 32, of Sissonville, was jailed on four counts of kidnapping and grand larceny. No charges were filed against Malik's mother, Stephanie Medford.
Read More: WSAZ | Charleston Gazette
