Heroic 11-year-old named outstanding citizen in Hennepin County

(KMSP) - An 11-year-old crime-fighter became the youngest person ever to win Hennepin County’s outstanding citizen award after she committed not one but two heroic acts.

Last year, when Thalia Williams was just 10 years old, she stood by her dad as he was viciously attacked and beaten, losing a finger and nearly his life. Through it all, Williams never left her dad’s side.

Months later, when her dad’s attacker, Vincent Walker, was on trial, she took the stand to testify against him. Her testimony helped put Walker behind bars.

Just one week after Walker was sentenced, Williams was once again saving the day when she spotted a suspicious-looking soda bottle had been left on the street near her house.

"I was just walking my dog with my mom and there on the side of the sidewalk there was a two liter bottle of off-brand soda with balls of tin foil on it,” Williams said.

Minneapolis police would later confirm that bottle was actually a bomb. Williams alerted her mom, who called police, preventing what could have been a deadly explosion.

Now the young crime-fighter one day hopes to become a prosecutor herself.

William’s parents are the first to admit their daughter is special

"We had strangers to us that were on the journey and approached us and complemented us on Thalia's poise,” Justin Williams, her dad said.

Now, the young crime-fighter has dreams of becoming a prosecutor.

"She can do whatever she want, that much I know,” Williams’ dad said.