MELBOURNE, Fla. – A Florida woman is facing multiple charges after allegedly holding two boys at gunpoint while they were fishing in a pond near her backyard.

What Happened?

On Friday, March 28, deputies responded to a home on Royston Drive in Melbourne after Donna Elkins, 59, called 911 to report two boys allegedly fishing in her backyard, authorities said.

Elkins told the dispatcher that she had “petrified them” and that she “stopped them and they were laying on the ground,” according to the report.

Boys Held at Gunpoint

According to deputies, the boys stated they were fishing in the pond behind Elkins’ home when she confronted them with a weapon, later identified as a long black pellet gun.

She then ordered them to the ground, told them they could not leave, and allegedly threatened to “blow their heads off,” investigators said.

The boys remained on the ground in fear for their lives for about five minutes until Elkins’ husband exited the house and disarmed her, according to the report. Two other children who witnessed the incident provided deputies with similar accounts.

Was the Fishing Spot Private Property?

Authorities confirmed that the boys were fishing on a peninsula near the pond, located approximately 30 feet from Elkins’ property line. The peninsula is owned by a community development district, meaning the boys were not trespassing on private property.

‘In My Head, It Was a Real Gun’

The incident was terrifying for the eighth graders involved. One of the boys, 15-year-old Brayden, recalled that Elkins repeatedly threatened them.

“She said she was going to blow our brains out and that if we didn’t listen to her, she would shoot — that she was going to blow our heads off,” Brayden said.

At the time, the teenagers didn’t realize it was a pellet gun.

“In my head, it was a real gun,” Brayden said. “She was saying she was going to kill us, and the fact that she was saying she was going to blow our heads off — you can’t do that with a pellet gun. I really thought it was real.”

Brayden hopes sharing his story will prevent similar incidents in the future.

“What she did was wrong,” he added.

Arrest and Charges

Elkins was arrested and booked into the Brevard County jail on two charges of aggravated assault and two charges of false imprisonment. The report states that she did not physically harm the boys, and they were not injured.

Watch the Video Here

For full details and footage from the incident, watch the video below.