(GunNews) – Cops in Bellingham, Washington are commending a 10-year-old boy for using his BB-gun to thwart an attack on his mother by a drunk, angry man trying to strangle her.

Now, we would be remiss if we didn’t say that a BB-gun is just about as low on the totem pole as one can go for self-defense purposes, but this 10-year-old lad obeyed the golden rule about stopping power:  it’s all about shot placement.

In this case, he fired some “golden BBs“, as many as four of them, into the bad guy’s face as bad guy and mom struggled.  Mr. bad guy decided to let go and mom and the boy fled to the neighbor’s place to call for help.

The man, 45-years-old – long past old enough to know he shouldn’t abuse women – got the BBs cut out of his face at the local hospital and got a complimentary ride from the local gendarmes to the county gray-bar hotel.

Bellingham boy, 10, defends mom with BB gun

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — Bellingham police say a 10-year-old boy defended his mother from an attacker by shooting him in the face with a BB rifle as many as four times.

The woman and boy were able to flee to a neighbor’s home Tuesday morning and call for help.

The man rents a room in the woman’s home and came home drunk and angry. Police say he kicked in a bedroom door and started choking the woman.

Police say her 10-year-old son hit him with a board and then shot him in the face with the pump-action BB rifle as he grappled with the woman.

The 45-year-old man was treated at a hospital and arrested for investigation of assault and making death threats.