A 6-year-old Brooklyn boy was injured Sunday night after a man wearing a fez allegedly tried to abduct him on a busy sidewalk in Coney Island, according to police and witnesses.
The incident occurred around 9:56 p.m. near the intersection of Surf Avenue and Stillwell Avenue in Brooklyn. Police said the suspect, 36-year-old Jonathan Robalino, grabbed the child off the sidewalk and attempted to flee with him. The child, identified as Rah’Shem “Rah’Rah” Gantt, was later treated at Coney Island Hospital for minor injuries and listed in stable condition, officials said, according to the New York Post.
“It was just shocking,” said Nora Smiles, who witnessed the incident. “I am a mother myself, so I– we all ran over to see what happened.”
Video obtained by Freedomnews shows a man dressed in all black, including a tall fez-style or chef’s hat, scooping the boy up with one arm as he trailed behind his parents. The footage shows the suspect tossing the child to the ground once the parents gave chase.
“I see this man holding my son like a football, a complete stranger,” said Sharon Robinson, the boy’s mother. “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.”
Robinson said the family had spent the evening enjoying the beach and amusement park rides before the incident. Gantt was running ahead while Robinson was buying popcorn when the suspect allegedly seized him.
“I guess by flinging him down, he must have thought that I was not going to run to him,” Robinson said, adding, “I was.”
The footage shows both parents running after Robalino, who fled into the street as cars passed through the intersection. The chase ended when Robinson pushed him down near the IT’SUGAR candy store.
“This man’s on the ground for two minutes without anyone handcuffing him,” she said. Police briefly restrained Robinson before witnesses clarified the situation. Officers from a nearby post then took Robalino into custody, according to police sources.
Gantt, who is from Queens, was inconsolable after the incident, Robinson said. “When they got to the emergency room, he was still crying,” she said. “We didn’t do nothing to this man. We never saw this man before, ever.”
Robinson called for the maximum penalty: “I want full charges on him. I want him to have a felony.”
Robalino was charged with assault and attempted kidnapping.
