One Southern Californian nanny’s unexpected encounter with a burglar at home quickly transformed her into a hero.

Jenny Lee Baker went out to run errands with the three-year-old she takes care of—but when she got home she noticed something wasn’t right.

A terrifying situation

As security-camera footage in the house showed, a burglar who looked of high school age was upstairs searching for valuables. In fact, moments before she arrived, the thief was ruffling through a purse in the kitchen.

“It was just sheer panic,” Baker told Inside Edition.

“To have him going into my kids’ rooms, it’s the most scary thing to me,” added the toddler’s father, Jonathan Lai.

A heroic decision

Baker decided to follow her intuition. She picked up the boy and ran down the street to a neighbor’s house. As she was running, she called for help.

Alarmed, the burglar ran away shortly thereafter.

What she did for my son and what she does daily, it’s unbelievable. I’m so grateful she’s in our lives.

Jonathan Lai

When asked if she considers herself a hero, Baker was dismissive.

“I don’t think of myself as a hero,” she said.

When his parents are away, they put their trust in me to keep him safe.

Jenny Lee Baker

Follow your intuition

The takeaway from this story shouldn’t be to be perpetually terrified of burglaries—random break-ins are rare, and they won’t be stopped no matter how many security cameras you have.

This story is about following your intuition and making smart, split-second decisions. For that, you can be a hero, just like this nanny is.

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