MESA, Ariz. -- A Mesa father armed with a BB gun confronted two home invaders, one of them brandishing an AK-47 assault rifle, after they grabbed his daughter by the hair at gunpoint, police said.
"I woke up and first I thought it was my mom screaming," said 15-year-old Gricel Ruelas. "Then I heard people shout, 'Open the door, open the door.'"
The intruders had kicked through the front door and were headed straight for her parents' room when they heard the girl screaming.
"I was going to hide in the closet, but that's when they got me," Ruelas said.
The men broke into her room and one of them grabbed her by the hair, she said.
"They had a gun to my head, like a big old gun, and the guy's saying , 'Come here.'"
Police said the weapon was an AK-47 assault rifle.
The 15-year-old said she fought back.
"I wasn't going to let them take me," she said.
Her father, Leonardo Lucia, came to her rescue and threatened them with a BB gun, police said.
He and the girl's uncle detained one man, but the one who had the rifle dropped it and took off running, according to officers.
"I'm so happy they were here," Ruelas said. "If they weren't, I wouldn't be here."
The man who was arrested, Daniel Lopez, 37, was on parole at the time, police said.
Lopez was arrested around 4:30 a.m. Sunday and booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary, aggravated assault and criminal damage.
Police said they hope he can lead them to his accomplice.
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