Masked male caught on video allegedly trying to kidnap 6-year-old boy while victim holds his father's hand on sidewalk



A masked male was caught on video allegedly trying to kidnap a 6-year-old boy while the victim was holding his father's hand on a sidewalk in Brooklyn over the weekend.

WABC-TV reported that the 28-year-old male was seen on surveillance videos yanking the boy so hard while he held on to his father's hand that the victim's feet came off the ground — but the the dad and son continued to hold hands tight.

'I don't think it was a hate crime, but it was scary.'

The father is seen on the clip quickly turning around and shoving the culprit, and the incident appears to end at that point.

You can view a video report here about the incident, which includes a pair of surveillance clips showing the suspect grabbing the child.

The incident occurred in front of multiple cameras on a block of Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights around 3:30 p.m. Saturday while the father and son were on their way to a Sabbath gathering, WABC said.

Incredibly, the boy's mother told the station that the suspect is actually their neighbor.

What's more, the couple noted to WABC that they've seen the suspect before and said he's never said or done anything unusual.

"He'd always hold the door, he always was nice," the mother added to the station.

The mother also told WABC she's heard from neighbors that something else was going on with the suspect, and he'd had a bad day.

She added to the station that while members of the Jewish community in the neighborhood already are on edge with a citywide increase in anti-Semitic incidents since October 7 of last year, the mother doesn't believe it was a hate crime.

"I don't think it was a hate crime, but it was scary," she told WABC. "It was like a scary incident. When you live in New York, you don't expect someone to attack a six-year-old and take him away from his parents."

The mother noted to the station that she's proud of her husband and son for the way they held on to each other and didn't let go.

She added to WABC that her boy will be getting therapy, and her family is hoping justice is served in court.

The station said Stephen Sowe is charged with attempted kidnapping, harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child.

Anything else?

In mid-October, a male was charged with a hate crime after he allegedly hollered, “I’m gonna kill you f***ing Jews!" during Yom Kippur in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. Police said Muhammad Hashim's alleged outburst was directed at a 43-year-old man in Borough Park, according to the New York Post.

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Homeless male wearing blonde wig, makeup, and pearls accused of trying to kidnap 11-year-old boy outside his home



A homeless male wearing a blonde wig, makeup, and pearls is accused of attempting to kidnap an 11-year-old boy outside of his Ohio home.

According to the Alliance Police Department, 39-year-old Joshua Freyermuth was arrested Sunday for attempting to kidnap the boy that same day.

'He kicked his heels off — my son said he had white high heels on — and then he took off running down the street.'

Freyermuth allegedly approached the child while he was outside his home in Alliance — roughly 30 miles southeast of Akron.

Freyermuth — who also goes by the name Vicky, according to the Daily Mail — was accused of attempting to lure the boy away from his property.

The police report stated that Freyermuth told the child, “I need to talk to you.”

WOIO-TV reported that the child refused, and Freyermuth attempted to grab the boy on South Webb Avenue.

The alleged victim said he was able to get away because the family's dog attacked the suspect.

"When he grabbed my son's arm, my dog attacked him, and then he stumbled back off the stairs," the child's father, Zachery Thurmond, told WOIO. "He kicked his heels off — my son said he had white high heels on — and then he took off running down the street."

The father said he chased after the male.

Alliance police said they had enough evidence to make an arrest.

Police also noted that there has been quite a reaction on social media. An Alliance police spokesperson said Freyermuth's arrest is "probably just as well for his safety" because of the number of people "who have decided they want to take this into their own hands."

However, Freyermuth has denied the allegations.

Still wearing his blonde wig during his arraignment Monday in Alliance Municipal Court on attempted kidnapping charges, Freyermuth told the judge, “I wasn’t even there. I didn’t try to kidnap anybody.”

The suspect said he has an alibi and that he was at a friend's house when the alleged attempted child abduction was said to have occurred.

Freyermuth's bond was set at $100,000, and he has been ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.

Freyermuth also was arrested Friday on drug possession charges after police said they found methamphetamine in his car.

Police said they pulled Freyermuth over after they received reports of a suspect driving around trying to speak to children, according to the New York Post.

Freyermuth's mugshot for that arrest shows him wearing a different wig, and he was released on bond for that charge.

Image source: Stark County (Ohio) Jail

Police are still investigating the alleged incident.

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Terrifying video: Creep grabs 4-year-old boy, tries to leave store with him. But Dad is right there — and does what dads do.



A surveillance video that almost certainly would terrify any parent of young children shows a male grabbing a 4-year-old boy and trying to leave a store with him Thursday in Miami Beach — but fortunately the boy's father was right there and fought off the would-be kidnapper.

What are the details?

The boy's mother was walking out of the CVS Pharmacy on the corner of Collins Avenue and 74th Street just before noon, and her son and her husband were walking behind her, WPLG-TV reported.

The surveillance video shows a man whom police identified as 26-year-old Nicolas Sternaman walking into the store at the same time — then turning, bending down, and grabbing the boy by the neck, the station said.

Sternaman lifted the boy off the ground and turned to face the store’s door to leave, but the father sprang into action and grabbed Sternaman until he let go of his son, WPLG said, citing the arrest report.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

The station said the mother turned to hit the man, and the boy fell on his back but wasn’t injured. The mom picked up her son and held him, WPLG said, adding that police noted that the boy was frightened.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Police said Sternaman ran away, leaving his jacket behind, and that a witness and the father followed him southbound on Collins Avenue, when Sternaman removed his sweater and threw it, the station said.

Officers joined the pursuit and arrested Sternaman along Harding Avenue near 71st Street, WPLG said, adding that Sternaman was facing felony charges of aggravated child abuse and battery.

Not his first arrest

Police arrested Sternaman — a resident of a penthouse at the Mirador 1000, a South Beach condominium — for petit theft on Jan. 3, the station said.

Image source: YouTube screenshot

Miami-Dade County court records indicate he was released on a $150 bond, WPLG said, adding that his status hearing was 8:30 a.m. Thursday, and his trial for the pending misdemeanor case was scheduled for April 1.

Detectives asked those with information to call Miami-Dade County Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477, the station said.

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Martial arts coach saves the day when man tries to snatch baby from stroller right in front of screaming mother



Brian Kemsley was walking with his girlfriend last week near New York City's Madison Square Park when he saw and heard something that required immediate action: A man was trying to grab a baby from a stroller, WPIX-TV reported.

What are the details?

Kemsley, a 33-year-old Muay Thai coach, immediately put his skills to use, the New York Post reported.

He told WPIX the assailant was asked to let go of the stroller but kept reaching for the baby, and the mother was already holding a toddler, both of whom were screaming — as was the growing crowd around them.

Cellphone footage shows Kemsley tackling the man to the ground, the Post said. Kemsley pinned him and waited for authorities to arrive, WPIX reported.

Image source: WPIX-TV video screenshot

"I was trying to get him away from the mother and let her get away to safety … but toward the end of it, I was also trying to keep the guy safe from the mob," he told the Post.

Kemsley added to the paper that even though his martial arts training includes a decade of jiu jitsu, he was "worried about passing out and losing my grip" as the ordeal lasted about 15 minutes until authorities arrived.

"Here's the thing, I don't enjoy jiujitsu, I don't think training is particularly fun, but I have a lot of respect for it as it is absolutely essential in a street fight and self-defense," he said regarding the incident, the paper said, citing an Instagram post that apparently has been deleted.

Image source: WPIX-TV video screenshot

He added in another post — which also apparently has been deleted — that "smashing someone should not be the priority" when it comes to "community security" and that citizens shouldn't "show up with sticks and start beating people. The priority should always be to defuse the situation safely and as non violently as possible so we do not escalate the situation," the Post added.

What happened next?

Park rangers soon arrived, WPIX said. New York City Police told the paper they responded to the park around 3:35 p.m. for a report of an emotionally disturbed person who was taken into custody and to Bellevue hospital for psychiatric evaluation.

Indeed, Kemsley told the Post that as he was pinning the man in place, he realized the perpetrator — who kept trying to fight — seemed unwell mentally, at one point appearing to believe he was speaking to former President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

No one was hurt, the station said.

"It's not a matter of stepping in; it's a matter of duty, when you see a woman and her child screaming," Kemsely told WPIX.

When it was all over "everyone started clapping, everyone was grateful," he added to the Post, noting that it "was a very nice moment."

Stunning surveillance video shows man attempting to kidnap baby from mother at grocery store



Surveillance video captured a mother's nightmare scenario when a man attempted to kidnap a baby sitting in a grocery cart during a shopping trip in Flagstaff, Arizona.

The harrowing incident unfolded on Thursday morning at about 9:30 a.m. at a Bashas' grocery store.

The video showed the mom standing in the self-checkout aisle with the baby in the grocery cart and the man standing behind her completing his own purchase.

Without warning, he nonchalantly grabs the cart and starts walking out as if it belonged to him. Other shoppers can be seen standing around in the aisle.

Police say that the mother quickly noticed that the man was trying to run off with her cart and she was able to stop him and get her baby back.

Local news reporters tweeted screenshots from the surveillance video in order to help police find a suspect.

NEW: 4 pics below from Flagstaff PD of an attempted child abduction. 1st pic is where the suspect started to push… https://t.co/wCEZI8vmVj
— jonathan roy (@jonathan roy)1599161593.0

Police said they had identified a suspect and apprehended him four hours later.

The Criminal Investigations Detectives said that the investigation is ongoing, according to KOLD-TV.

According to FBI statistics, about 350 people under the age of 18 are kidnapped every year in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of juveniles are reported missing to the FBI every year, but of those, about 95% are classified as runaways. Only about 0.1%, or one in a thousand, are reported as abductions by a stranger.

"It doesn't happen very often, but they're certainly the cases that capture our attention because they strike at our worst fears," said Robert Lowery, the vice president at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, to Reuters.

Here's part of the surveillance video from the incident:

Security camera captures attempted infant kidnapping at Flagstaff storewww.youtube.com