A video of a man attempting to kidnap a six-year-old boy from his father on a Brooklyn sidewalk in New York state on Saturday afternoon is going viral on social media. The incident occurred around 3:30 pm in Crown Heights, a major hub for the ultra-Orthodox community.
The father was walking with his two sons when a man wearing a blue and white letterman jacket approached them, as shown in the video. The man grabbed the six-year-old and lifted him into the air, but the father quickly intervened, pulling his son away from the suspect.
The Orthodox Jewish father responded by punching the masked man in the stomach.
The suspect fled the scene on foot. Police have confirmed that no injuries were reported.
"This video is shocking," said Chabad PR representative Yaacov Behrman in a post on X. "Something is clearly going on in Crown Heights—there have been incident after incident over the past two weeks," he added.
The investigation is ongoing and is being handled by the 71st precinct. No arrests have been made at this time. A representative for Shomrim, a private police force serving NYC’s Jewish community, said no words were exchanged between the suspect and the family, according to a New York Post report.
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