12-year-old home alone thwarts burglary

SPRINGFIELD (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - An attempted burglary at a Springfield home yesterday morning was thwarted by a 12-year-old girl who was home alone.

The girl was home sick from school. She called the police and then hid in the garage of her Telbar Street home, police said.

The child was uninjured, but was described as frightened, according to police said. The girl heard someone breaking into the house, so she called 911 and then hid in the garage until police arrived.

Brandon T. Spigner, 20, was arrested and charged with breaking and entering in the daytime and putting someone in fear, and larceny of more than $250.

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We want to know:

Is 12 years old (usually 7th grade) too young to be left home alone?

When FOX 25 called Massachusetts Departments of Children and Families (DCF) we were told that there are currently no regulations on the appropriate age to leave a child home alone.

DCF says it is a matter of each individual's prerogative.

In cases where kids younger than 10 are home alone, DCF may suggest that there may be some state intervention.