Being a South African citizen by birth, I was convinced that I have seen it all and could not be shocked by a lot of things any more, but, after the incident on Friday, 11 September, I realised I was horribly wrong.
As I was scrolling through social media, my eyes happened to land on CCTV footage. As I am in the news business, I immediately read the accompanying tweet, to see what it was all about, and my blood ran cold. The footage showed a man coming out of nowhere, running towards a family sitting at an outside table at a restaurant, and trying to grab their young daughter.
See here: WATCH: Florida restaurant goers prevent deranged man’s attack on young girl
But, that was not the worst of it. What was even more terrifying was that it happened on Goldman Street in Florida, right on our doorstep. After recovering from my initial shock at seeing this blatant act, in the middle of the day, I noticed that the man did not succeed in his mission, as he was lying on the sidewalk, handcuffed and ready to be taken to the Police Station.
The thing that stood out for me during this whole incident (which, by the way only took a few seconds to unfold) was the way the four-year-old’s mother reacted. She and her friend were sitting at the table, having a conversation, but, as she noticed this man running in their direction, she immediately stretched over the table and grabbed her daughter, in an attempt to protect her from the perceived danger. Her friend also reacted, and together they hung on to the toddler for dear life, as the man tried to wrestle her away from them. This maternal instinct may just have been the thing that helped save this youngster’s life.
Another factor that also warmed my heart, was the way the community members and fellow restaurant goers all jumped into action, and worked together to help save this girl. And one man, in particular, can be singled out as the hero of the day, as he did not hesitate to come to the women’s side, and help get this man away from the little girl, and wrestling him to the ground, keeping watch until the police arrived.
While lying on the ground, it was evident that the man was not himself and under the influence of some kind of illegal substance, as he was not shy to inform bystanders that he wanted to abduct the child to get his weekend fix from his nearest Nigerian.
And, even though this story’s ending was a good one, it could have been so much worse. It is sad to think that we cannot even enjoy some time with our children without constantly having to be on high alert and planning for every circumstance; instead of just being children and being able live, play and be care-free
Until next week, stay safe and look out for each other …
