A six-year-old boy was nearly kidnapped Sunday night in Coney Island in a terrifying scene caught on video.
The child’s quick scream and his parents’ fast reaction stopped the crime before it could go any further.
Video footage shows a six-year-old boy being nearly kidnapped in Coney Island
Image credits: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
The boy, Rah’Sheem ‘Rah’Rah’ Gantt, was walking with his mother Sharon Robinson, father Roy Gantt, and baby sister near the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenue around 10 p.m.
Highlights
- A man grabbed a 6-year-old in Coney Island, but the boy’s scream and parents’ quick chase stopped the kidnapping.
- The mom pinned the suspect down for four minutes until police arrived.
- Suspect Jonathan Robalino had prior run-ins with the law, and was charged with assault and attempted kidnapping.
They had spent the evening enjoying the beach and amusement park.
Suddenly, a man dressed all in black and wearing a tall hat grabbed the boy off the sidewalk.
Video footage obtained by Freedomnews shows the man scooping the child up like a football and running.
Image credits: FreedomNews TV
“If Rah’Rah hadn’t made that loud scream, that man would have taken him and done whatever he wanted to do with him, maybe take him under the boardwalk and rape him and kill him.”
As soon as Rah’Rah’s parents saw what was happening, they ran after the suspect.
Realizing he was being chased, the man threw the boy to the ground and tried to escape.
The kidnapper threw the boy on the ground and tried to escape
Image credits: FreedomNews TV
But they chased the man, and Robinson pinned him down for four minutes near a candy store until police arrived.
“I guess by flinging him down, he must have thought that I was not going to run to him,” Robinson said. “I was.”
“I had my foot on his chest to hold him down. I didn't have the heart to stomp him.”
“Violence is not my way,” Robinson added.
Image credits: FreedomNews TV
At first, police thought the parents were attacking someone. Witnesses had to step in to explain what had happened.
“We had 10, 15 people come up and vouch for us,” Gantt said.
Officers then arrested the suspect, 36-year-old Jonathan Robalino.
He was charged with assault and attempted kidnapping.
Police said the suspect had prior interactions with police and remains in custody.
Jonathan Robalino had prior run-ins with the law and has been arrested
Image credits: ABC News
Rah’Rah was taken to Coney Island Hospital with minor injuries. He was checked and found to be in stable condition.
Robinson said the boy cried “nonstop” after the incident.
“When they got to the emergency room, he was still crying,” she recalled.
Bystanders who saw the incident were shocked.
“It was just shocking. I’m a mother myself, so we all ran over to see what was happening,” witness Nora Smiles told ABC News.
Robinson said the event felt like a dream.
“We didn’t do nothing to this man,” she said.
“We never saw this man before, ever. I want full charges on him. I want him to have a felony.”