10-Year-Old Girl Fights Off Kidnapper & It's Caught on Tape (VIDEO)

by Ericka Sóuter July 19, 2012 at 11:02 AM

city street For one 10-year-old girl, a trip to the corner store almost turned tragic. While walking down the street with her 2-year-old brother, a man tried to kidnap her off a street in South Philadelphia. Amazingly, the whole horrifying crime was caught on surveillance cameras.

The video shows the man pull his car to the side of the road, wait for the kids walking hand-in-hand to pass by, then jump out of the car to sneak up behind them. He grabs the little girl, muzzles her mouth with his hand, and tries to run off with her, but she bit and kicked him, defensive moves her father says she learned from watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Police say he was also scared off by her brother's startled reaction. "Ultimately, with the screams from this little boy and by her account [the victim] says the child literally screams louder than anything she's ever heard before, he literally interrupts this assault," said Captain John Darby. The suspect is still on the run, but thanks to the cameras, they have a good description of the man and his car.

We hear about children being snatched all the time. Usually, as we listen to the police describe what they think happened, we may try to piece together a picture of the crime in our mind. But to see it actually unfold right before your eyes is truly terrifying.

See the young girl's scary ordeal here:

What's your reaction to seeing an attempted abduction play out before your eyes?

Image via violet sugar/Flickr

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Filed Under: crime, safety

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ericka Sóuter

is a veteran pop culture and celeb news writer. That experience boils down to two things: she knows way too much about the Kardashians and she dominates on Trivial Pursuit's arts and entertainment questions.

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Comments 55

Nonmember comment from Shelly

July 19, 2012 at 9:50 PM

I support the use of video camera's in malls, streets, and communities just for this reason. We are under the assumption that this little girl of age (10) was real far from her home,with her little brother of age (2). Could be she just walked out with her little brother out of one of the apartments in the video. I think schools and communities need to hold monthly open meetings for children and safety, what to do, not do, and information of always being with a "partner" to remain safe. I hope this man is caught and he is put to jail for a long long time. How sad for this little girl and baby brother. I do hope some form of free counseling was offered to the parents of both of these children. I am sure she is still shaken by the trauma of this horrible event in her life.

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Facebook comment from Kelly Kersting Stanley

July 19, 2012 at 10:12 PM

Who in there right mind would let a 10 year old walk to the corner with a two year old.Really people.That is why idiots keep losing there kids to rapists and child mollesters!

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Facebook comment from Kristen Sayles

July 19, 2012 at 10:15 PM

I have to say, for the law and order comments, I've let my 7 year old watch it. You may see it as inappropriate but, as this case proves, it makes them aware of the horrors out there. It makes the danger real. You can't coddle children and leave them oblivious to the world. Just because you tell your child not to speak to or go with strangers, doesn't mean when a real situation arises they won't. I remember seeing a piece where they intentionally went to a park and tried to lure children away with candy to see how many would come. Even with the parents there, and even the children of parents who stated they taught their children the whole "stranger danger" thing, the children still went.

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AdrinaBabyMama

July 19, 2012 at 10:35 PM

WOW!!! i WOULD NEVERR let me 10 year old walk around town with my 2 year old!!! SOME PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE PARENTS!! OMG! i'm so glad that little girl is safe though! kuddos to her to fighting! Maybe these parents will LEARN!

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IBNeaters

July 19, 2012 at 11:07 PM

I know someone has mentioned this, but my first thought when reading this was 'why is a 10yo girl watching SVU?' Anyway, I'm glad she's okay, but that was just a bit disturbing to me. I do think that we should let our kids be more independant and I might have let her run to the store a few blocks away if she wanted to. I'm not entirely sure if I would let my 10yo daughter take the 2yo with her. But thank God he was there! Go little bro!

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Nonmember comment from Sara

July 19, 2012 at 11:27 PM

This is sick, really sick. People are asking why would the parent let their 10 yo walk to the corner store alone. What we should be asking is wth is happening to our society that kids CANNOT walk around safely anymore. I was 10 just seventeen years ago and I could walk around my neighborhood *by myself* and my parents were ok with it. And my neighborhood was large enough that the pool/library were more than a mile from my home. I did not grow up in a small town - I grew up in a suburb close to a city.
And if you think I was lucky, my childhood friends could do the same.
We need to focus on the real problem here- why pedophiles are roaming the street and why our legal system/society is so lax when it comes
to dealing with these sick bastards.
Child pornography, pedophilia should be dealt with like how you deal with a murderer - no mercy for these terrible creatures.

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Nonmember comment from scared

July 19, 2012 at 11:32 PM

If i got my hands on any person harming kids im not liable---if it was my kids then its a "time to kill" (samuel jackson movie)

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Facebook comment from Megan Leigh Russell Dame

July 20, 2012 at 12:02 AM

That is one of the scariest things I have EVER seen! I yelled outloud and scared the wits out of my husband! My heart is pounding! Horrible.

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Jammie209

July 20, 2012 at 2:14 AM

Thank god the dirt bag had a little sense & turned himself in. He was probably afraid what the ppl in Philly would do to him if they caught him first.

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