In a disturbing video, a woman notices a man suspiciously leading a young girl down an alley. Following her intuition, the woman pursues the pair, only to find herself face-to-face with a child abductor.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, a woman is being hailed a heroine after she not only chose to follow her instinct but also courageously endangered herself to ensure a child’s safety. It’s this woman’s quick thinking that many have credited to stopping what could’ve been a tragedy.
The incident unfolded when an unidentified woman spotted a suspicious man casually escorting a young girl off the sidewalk and into a back alley in southwest London. As she took a closer look, she saw that the man appeared to have his hand over the child’s mouth. Following her gut feeling, the woman unhesitantly decided to follow him.
Thankfully, the woman quickly pulled out her cell phone to record the event. The camera shows the woman weaving through the alleyways in hot pursuit of the suspect before she finally stops in full view of the man, who has the child up against a brick wall. It is then that the woman confronts him.
“Let her go! What are you doing with her?”
“This is my sister, bro,” the man says.
The woman continues pursuing the man, who hastily leads the girl away. With his arm around the girls neck and shoulder, he forcefully escorts the child toward a back road. Still, the woman refuses to relent, hounding the man about his intentions with the young girl.
“Why are you f—— stalking me, bro?” the man insists angrily before fleeing the pursuant woman.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING
IN BROAD DAYLIGHT IN LONDON
A GROWN MAN TRIED TO ABDUCT A SCHOOL GIRL
VILE pic.twitter.com/HzRLT2WBaO
— Grit ✈️ NFT NYC (@GRITCULT) November 3, 2020
The pursuit comes to a halt as the man releases the girl and runs away, giving up the abduction. Clearly distraught, the child breaks down at the woman’s question, devolving into incoherent whimpering. The girl manages to tell the woman that she was snatched suddenly as she was on her way to school. However, the rest of her explanation is muffled by her cries. The event is so traumatic that even the woman’s voice begins to crack as she tries to comfort the girl.
“Do you know him?” the woman filming asks.
“No, I don’t know him,” the little girl says as her response becomes indistinguishable from her sobs. “I was just trying to go to the store,” she explains.
The BBC reports that the footage was key in the investigation carried out by the Met Police, who have a suspect in mind. Mitcham and Morden MP Siobhain McDonagh confirmed that the girl was on her way to class when she was taken. The man is also suspected of having forced the girl to perform sex acts before the woman managed to track him down, Metro reports.
“The extraordinary bravery of a lady who followed and filmed them has almost certainly saved the victim from even further distress,” she said. The video “has provided the police extremely important evidence for what I sincerely hope will be the swift apprehension and the early arrest of the attacker,” McDonagh added.
Following an outcry, the police urged the public not to pursue the suspect but to “allow us to do our jobs.” The widely-circulated video caused outrage among residents, some of whom gathered outside various addresses in an effort to locate the man they believe is responsible.
Civilians were successful in tracking down the suspect. However, police were quick to intervene before the swelling crowd could deliver mob justice.
“Do not try to take the law into your own hands or you may end up doing something you regret and potentially face police action yourself,” Detective Superintendent Owain Richards said.
The police pleaded with residents to refrain from playing judge, jury, and executioner. Of course, tensions ran high as the video continued to circulate, garnering more outrage among impatient locals.
Thankfully, the woman in the video trusted her instincts and pursued the pair, ultimately saving a little girl from a terrible fate. Unfortunately, this scenario might easily prevent others from doing so out of fear of being labeled a racist.
