Kidnapping attempts prevented by people rushing to defend children in Michigan
NBC News- 272 views
- 18 Aug 2024
A man in Michigan stands accused of attempting to abduct two children within just hours of each other in areas outside Detroit.
This terrifying moment caught on video shows a man grabbing a seven-year-old girl off her bike in Sterling Heights, Michigan, before running back to his car in an attempted kidnapping. The girl's aunt and cousin, faced with a fight or flight moment, went after him.
I flew through the window to try and get her and just latch on and hold on for dear life because I just couldn't imagine him getting away with her.
A nearby driver blocked the man from driving away. The suspect, 23-year-old Andy Bala, charged in not just this kidnapping attempt, but another one just an hour before. That attempt involving a 15-year-old girl just a couple miles away in nearby Clinton Township. While doing yard work, Paul Billeter says he noticed a car pull up next to the girl and heard a man ask her if she needed a ride.
He grabs her like a sack of potatoes, and I bolted towards the car because something obviously was going wrong. I grabbed a hold of him by the neck.
What went through your mind when you heard that, that he tried to do it two times in the same afternoon?
I got sick to my stomach, and it never even occurred to me that he would have went down the street and tried this again.
According to court documents, Bala received a petition for hospitalization due to mental illness last year and was discharged three days later. Now, he's held without bond in Sterling Heights. Corinne Childers, the seven-year-old girl's mother, says that doesn't make her feel safe.
Just be aware. Don't let your children go anywhere without eyes on them. I mean, look at what happened here.
Bala will be back in court at the end of August, while tonight, two children are lucky to be home. Maura Barrett, NBC News.
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