A man at a golf course used his golf cart to ram a teen who was pointing a BB gun at his dog on Monday night.

Charles James was golfing at Heron Lakes Golf Course in Portland, Oregon, with his service dog, Bishop, when he confronted a group of four teens on the golf course. Bishop regularly rides alongside of James in his golf cart. "He's my buddy," said James.

James was readying to go to the next hole on the green when he saw some teens causing trouble.

"I'm watching these kids and they've got the flagstick – they've taken the flag off and they're spearing it down and sticking it into the green," he said.

James drove his cart toward them to get the flag back with Bishop running alongside his cart. That's when one pulled out what he thought was a rifle and pointed it directly at his dog. 

He said all bets were off when they threatened Bishop. He floored his golf cart, ramming the armed teen. "The guy lowered the rifle, and I thought he was lowering it at [Bishop]," James said. "I stepped on this (the accelerator) and ran right into him, and he came through the window."

James jumped out of the cart and grabbed the rifle. Another teen started to draw a knife on him, but Bishop grabbed the boy's pants and tugged. When he pulled away, the four teens ran off, one of them limping.

James said he was surprised at Bishop defending him as he did. "I never thought he would be aggressive. I mean, he runs from cats." 

Gunning the cart was an instinct, said James, because he felt his dog was in danger. "If they were lowering it on me, I would have turned around and left, but he was gonna pop my dog."   

Police said the suspects were Hispanic men. One suspect was wearing a brown and white shirt and all the suspects were wearing long pants and fled on foot on a bike path. Another suspect was described as in his 20s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 180 pounds and wearing a black shirt and black pants. 

If you have any details about this case, call Portland police.

• golf cart
• Service dog
• Portland
• Oregon