Memphis Officers Surprise Boy With New Xbox After His Was Stolen in Home Burglary
— -- Four Memphis, Tennessee, police officers surprised an 11-year-old boy with a new Xbox after his home was burglarized the same day.
The young boy and his mother returned home from church Sunday to discover his Xbox, all his games and some of his mother's items had been stolen, according to a post on the Memphis Police Department's Facebook page.
The four officers who responded to the burglary said that after talking with the 11-year-old boy, they realized "he didn't have a whole lot" and that "this game system (while it was handed down from someone else) was everything to him."
The cops were especially moved when they asked him whether he was going to request a new Xbox from Santa. He said, "My mom works long hours and several jobs ... she uses that money to just pay the bills; I am not gonna even ask," according to the Facebook post.
To "make this Christmas season a little brighter" for the young boy, two officers stopped by a local Game Stop store during a break later in the day to buy a new Xbox system along with three games, the department wrote. The clerk split the bill with the officers after learning of their plan, and the store's manager also chipped in a free extra controller.
Police added that when the officers returned to the residence, they asked the boy to "take a look at an Xbox they found to see if it was his," and he responded, "No, sir... Mine was older."
The four cops then surprised the boy, explaining that despite not finding his old Xbox, the new one was his now.
"He was so overwhelemed that it brought tears to not only him, but his mother and officers as well," the department said.
The four cops involved in the surprise were identified as Officer Jerry Graves, Officer Antonio Martin, Officer Antwan Cooper and Officer Justin Bourland.
Police told ABC News they are not releasing the family’s identity because of safety concerns.
