Shocking moment masked man tries to snatch child from his dad’s hands just yards from his home in middle of the day
TERRIFYING footage shows the moment a masked man tries to snatch a six-year-old boy from his father in the middle of the day.
The chilling incident happened at around 3.30 pm on Saturday just several blocks from the boy's home.
At the time, the six-year-old was walking to a Shabbos gathering close to his home in Brooklyn, New York.
In the heart-stopping video, a man is seen yanking the boy off his feet.
His father tightly grips onto his son's hand.
The father then pushes the man, wearing a black ski mask, away, and confronts him.
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Police later arrested the man.
So far, there is no explanation for the bizarre incident which took place on Kingston Avenue in the Crown Heights neighborhood, home to a large Hasidic Jewish community.
A suspect, 28-year-old Stephen Sowe, is in custody, charged with attempted kidnapping, harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child.
Sowe was arrested and charged on Sunday morning at around 1.40 am.
He is believed to be a neighbor of the boy he allegedly tried to kidnap.
The boy's mother, Balya, described the moment her son told her what had happened.
Balya said that they know Sowe, and that he has never been any trouble before.
She claimed that neighbors said he had been having a bad day on the day of the incident in question.
Although she doesn't believe the attack was an antisemitic hate crime, she added that many among the Jewish community are on edge following a citywide increase in incidents since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 last year.
When my kids came back, they told me 'Mommy, someone tried to grab me!'
Balya
"It was scary," she said. "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," she added.
An NYPD spokesperson told The U.S. Sun, "On Saturday, November 9, 2024, at approximately 1530 hours, a 45-year-old male and his 6-year-old son were walking on the sidewalk in the vicinity of 451 Kingston Avenue, within the confines of the 71 Precinct/ PSA 1.
"They were approached by an unknown individual who picked up the 6-year-old male and unsuccessfully attempted to separate him from his father before walking away.
"No injuries were reported as a result of this incident."
The boy's mother added that she his proud of her husband and son for holding onto each other and not letting go.
She added that the little boy will be getting therapy, and her family is hoping for justice in court.
Also speaking to Israel National News, the boy's father Zalman said that the man had attacked other people on the day of the incident.
"I know that he attacked a few people on the same day," he said.
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"I don't want to think that it was a hate crime, because with everything going on in Israel and around the world, I don't want my son to feel that is a hate crime.
"The minute the kids start to feel that it was a hate crime, they'll be scared to go anywhere. I want them to feel like the guy just wasn't normal, that's it.''