On Tuesday's Good Morning America on ABC, there was a rare example of the dominant media actually taking the time to inform viewers of someone using a gun for self-defense as news reader Amy Robach filed a report about a man who saved himself and his daughter from home invaders after they attempted to kidnap his daughter as she arrived home.
After Robach began the piece by recalling that 17-year-old Amber Brackney was recently getting home from her job as a waitress, then came a soundbite of Amber describing what happened next:
There was three barrels blocking my driveway, and, you know, I automatically thought, like, "This isn't right. This is something that would happen in a scary movie, you know, like when you get out, and then you, like, get taken or something bad happens."
After the ABC personality recounted that Amber drove around the barrels instead of stopping, then came a clip of her father, Terry, recalling how he found the kidnappers and what he did to chase them off:
I noticed that the floodlight on the front of the house had came on, and the dogs wouldn't quit barking, so I got up again, and when I walked out the back door and looked to my right, that's when I saw the two individuals about 15, 20 feet from me at the next door, which is a garage door, trying to break in. And that's when I yelled at them and fired three shots.
Robach then informed viewers that the police caught up with and arrested the would-be kidnappers who were apparently planning to take the father and daughter hostage and rob the home.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Tuesday, November 14, Good Morning America on ABC:
AMY ROBACH: This morning, Amber Brackney and her father Terry speaking out for the first time since thwarting an alleged kidnapping plot aimed at 17-year-old Amber who was driving home from her part-time waitressing job when she noticed something felt off.
AMBER BRACKNEY, ESCAPED KIDNAPPING: I became scared like my life was in danger. There was three barrels blocking my driveway, and, you know, I automatically thought, like, "This isn't right. This is something that would happen in a scary movie, you know, like when you get out, and then you, like, get taken or something bad happens."
ROBACH: As Amber swerved around the barrels, her father, Terry, sprang into action.
TERRY BRACKNEY, FATHER WHO STOPPED HOME INVASION: I noticed that the floodlight on the front of the house had came on, and the dogs wouldn't quit barking, so I got up again, and when I walked out the back door and looked to my right, that's when I saw the two individuals about 15, 20 feet from me at the next door, which is a garage door, trying to break in. And that's when I yelled at them and fired three shots.
ROBACH: According to investigators, the suspects were allegedly planning on kidnapping Amber by forcing her out of her car, taking her to the house, and subduing her father -- whom they believed to be wealthy -- and then robbing the home.
TERRY BRACKNEY: I work seven days a week -- I work hard. I own a funeral home and a clothing store here in town, and the community has been very good to me over the years. Had these individuals made it in our house, I said today probably would have been our funerals.
ROBACH: After the 51-year-old called 911, police tracked down this white jeep. Inside, they say they found a trove of potential kidnapping materials, latex gloves, masks, dark clothing, and a roll of tape. The suspects, four teenagers who went to the same high school as Terry's daughter, are now being charged as adults with attempted kidnapping and attempted home invasion.
