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"Hell yeah, I would do it again," Worcester woman fights off armed intruder with broom

Worcester woman uses broom to fight off intruder
Worcester woman uses broom to fight off intruder 02:39

WORCESTER - Sara Kane is a brave woman. A armed man tried to breaking into her apartment in Worcester early Wednesday morning and she fought him off with a broom.

Ring doorbell video from that morning showed a man stumbling towards the apartment building on Gibbs Street around at 3 a.m.  

Kane said the loud ruckus he made in the hallway woke her up. She ran out of her apartment and encountered him. That's when she grabbed a broom sitting in the hallway.  

"You could just tell something was wrong," Kane told WBZ-TV. "Whether he was having a mental health crisis or substance abuse related, something was not right and for some reason I just instantly grabbed the broom and I just like, boom, I shoved him back."

Sara Kane Worcester
Sara Kane CBS Boston

Even after shoving him with the lucky broom and running back to her apartment, that didn't stop the man, later identified as 32-year-old Oniz Janniere. Police say he actually went for Kane's door too.

"He was just shaking it. He could have kicked it in, but he didn't," said Kane. "Maybe I'm always in survival mode, I'm not sure, but I don't know him, and I knew he didn't belong in my building."

But luckily, she had called 911 and officers raced in to intervene.

"The cops were here in two minutes. I called them at 3:07 and they were here at 3:09," said Kane. "They were absolutely amazing and watching them without fear, like without fear, running into a situation, they were amazing."

Oniz Janniere Worcester
Oniz Janniere arrested for attempted burglary in Worcester CBS Boston

Police arrested Janniere and say they he was carrying two double edged knives. Janniere is charged with attempt to armed burglary, carrying a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

Even after the scary ordeal, the substance abuse nurse says she has compassion for the suspect. 

"Don't judge this man by this one incident. I hope he gets help. I really do," said Kane.

But she warns he better not try to come back, or anyone else for that matter. Would she do it again?

"Hell yeah, I would do it again," Kane told WBZ-TV.

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