A dramatic scene played out in a Philadelphia neighborhood after a man lured a little girl into his home, then shot at her mother, leading to an intense barricade situation that ended in the suspect’s arrest.
According to local news outlets, police were called to a home in the Ogontz neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon, where an 8-year-old girl was reportedly kidnapped.
The child’s aunt, Nyliah Briggs, said she saw her niece playing outside with other kids when the man pulled the child into his home by her arm, then locked the door behind him.
Briggs said that she and the girl’s mother rushed to rescue the girl.
“When she got closer to the door, he snatched her, grabbed her, pulled her in, shut the door, and locked it,” the girl’s mother, Nijah Bullock, told WPVI. “All the other kids ran up and told me.”
They knocked on the door, and when the man came out, the mother maced him. In response, the suspect opened fire.
Police said the child managed to escape through the back door, but a 5-year-old boy was still locked inside with the suspect, prompting a barricade situation when officers arrived at the scene.
“He was shooting at my sister, her mother,” Briggs told WPVI. “She has to do everything in her power as a mother to try to get her child to safety.”
Authorities called in the SWAT team, and nearly half an hour after they arrived, the man came out of the home. Video of the scene shows several police officers swarming the suspect as they took him into custody and loaded him into a police van.
The 5-year-old who was inside the home came out unharmed. Police say the boy lives with the 44-year-old suspect.
Police also recovered a semi-automatic weapon and four shell casings at the scene.
“My niece is safe; she wasn’t harmed, but it’s just shocking. It’s crazy,” Briggs said.
Neighbors also expressed relief that the situation was resolved quickly.
“I’m glad he got caught, so I’m feeling good,” one resident said.
Investigators say the suspect appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, or both. They have not released his name or the motive behind the alleged abduction. Details on his charges have also not been released.
“No matter what, I will do anything I have to do, before I let anything happen to her or her sisters,” Bullock said. “Whatever comes my way, about the three that I birthed, I’m willing to take it all.”
