(RepublicanPress.org) – The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recently reported that in 2021, more than 337,000 people were reported missing. Of those, 93,718 were active as of the end of the year, and 32% of those were youths — just under 30,000. While the AMBER Alert system helps recover a good number of children in the US, other kids are lucky enough to evade abduction altogether.
On February 8, Local 10 News reported that surveillance footage in a CVS Pharmacy in Miami Beach, Florida, showed a father fighting off a man who allegedly tried to kidnap their 4-year-old son. According to police, the incident happened just before lunchtime in North Beach. The suspect, 26-year-old Nicholas Sternaman, can be seen on video casually walking into the CVS before abruptly turning and grabbing the little boy who was exiting the store with his parents.
The father reacted quickly, attacking the suspect from behind and pulling him backward and away from the boy. While the dad and Sternaman were scuffling, the child’s mother swooped in and grabbed her son, carrying him to safety. The boy’s father fought with the suspect for a few seconds more before the would-be kidnapper took off out of the store. He then went to check on his family before heading out the door, seemingly looking for the suspect.
The news source said he left the store with a witness to follow Sternaman until police arrived to help. The reporter covering the incident said the police happened to be nearby. Local parents said they were shocked by the incident, especially because it happened in the middle of the day.
According to the New York Post, the suspect was then arrested and charged with aggravated assault and battery, and kidnapping. He was already out on bail for another crime. He was booked in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Police are still trying to determine a motive for Sternaman’s alleged actions.
The 4-year-old made it through the ordeal without injury.
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