10-Year-Old’s Quick 911 Call Foils 6 Armed Intruders : Crime: Boy alerted Temple City sheriff’s deputies after the suspects broke into his home and seized his two brothers. All the suspects were arrested; no one was hurt.

In less than a minute, 10-year-old Robert Chou thwarted six home invasion robbers in the only way he knew how: He called 911.

With little-boy moxie, he directed Temple City sheriff’s deputies to his home, where six teen-agers with knives and a handgun had just broken in. Robert, in a quavering voice, answered the dispatcher’s questions--right up until the suspects found him hiding in a fireplace.

In the end, the boy and his brothers, ages 20 and 14, were unhurt Wednesday, and deputies arrested the six teen-agers on suspicion of robbery, said Sheriff’s Deputy Fidel Gonzalez.

“He was a quick-thinking and composed young man under immense pressure,” Sgt. Ron Spear said.

Robert’s mother, Abby, said she did not want her son to be interviewed because he still was upset by the incident. She declined to answer questions about Robert or his brothers, saying she was concerned for their safety.

“My son was very scared,” said Chou, an office clerk in San Gabriel who was working at the time of the robbery. “He was shaking and sweating. This was hard for him.”

The drama started about 3 p.m. Wednesday, when the armed suspects broke into the house through a small garage window. They grabbed 14-year-old Richard and hit him before binding him with electrical cords and duct tape.

Robert, who was watching TV in the den, heard the commotion and ran to alert his oldest brother, 20-year-old Roger.

Roger grabbed an unloaded rifle and directed Robert to call 911. Roger was able to hold three of the intruders at bay until the three others came in and disarmed him.

Meanwhile, Robert ran for the telephone and slipped into the fireplace.

His voice was scared and tentative.

“Hello?” he said to the 911 dispatcher. “Um, people just broke into our house.”

The dispatcher tried to find out what was going on and where Robert was.

Dispatcher: What are they doing in the house?

Robert: I think they’re going to take stuff.

Dispatcher: Where are you at?

Robert: I’m, I’m on the phone.

Dispatcher: Are you in your bedroom? Where are you at?

Robert: I’m in the living room. Um, my brother?

Dispatcher: Uh-huh?

Robert: He, um, has a gun. Don’t worry, it’s licensed.

Dispatcher: OK, are you guys in the bedroom? Where are you at?

Robert: I’m in the living room, and my brother’s got them freezed.

Dispatcher: Has them freezed? With a gun?

Robert: Uh-huh.

Dispatcher: Your brother’s pointing a gun at them?

Robert: Yeah.

The call ended with Robert’s screams as the teen-agers discovered him and ordered him out of the fireplace at knifepoint.

But the information was enough to get sheriff’s deputies rolling. The intruders had ransacked the house and started piling up items. But they heard the sirens and ran.

Deputies arrived in time to catch three of the intruders immediately and caught the other three after a short chase. The suspects, who range in age from 14 to 18, are residents of the San Gabriel Valley. Deputies only identified one suspect, Thang Thong, 18.

Neighbors applauded Robert’s actions.

“I’d say he’s a very quick thinker,” said neighbor Michael Schaller, 46, a psychologist for Temple City schools. “It turned out well, he’s a hero.”

Meanwhile, Abby Chou is trying to shield her sons from further trauma--this time from the media. Robert is holed up with relatives until everything blows over.

“I just want them to forget about this,” she said.