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ESTACADA, Ore. -- A 7-year-old Oregon boy carried out his dream of being a crime-fighting superhero -- and he did it by sneaking out of his home in the middle of the night.

Lliam Baird armed himself with a Nerf gun and few extra bullets when he snuck out of his house sometime between midnight and 4 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23. He was dressed in all black, and ventured out into the dark all alone on his search for bad guys.

Fortunately, Lliam ran into a good guy first: a police officer who brought him back home.

We had no idea he was gone until my husband opened the door, and there was him and a police officer. –- Tyra Baird, Liliam's mother.

"We had no idea he was gone until my husband opened the door, and there was him and a police officer," said Tyra Baird, Lliam's mother, told NBC News.

Lliam has read from his police officer storybook that "the under age to become a police officer is to be 21." When asked how many years he had to wait to fight crime as an officer, Lliam said, "Four years, probably."

Although he is very enthusiastic, Lliam may realistically need to tack on another 15 years before he can really fight crime. But watch out, bad guys -- this future officer is coming for you.

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