A Florida sheriff's office has released surveillance video of an alleged attempted abduction that happened on Tuesday. In the footage, a man appears to try to drag a 13-year-old out of a Hernando store, but he is beaten off by the girl's mom.
"Craig Bonello, 30, of Hernando, was taken into custody and will be charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of child abuse," the Citrus County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.
"Again, we are grateful for the courageous acts of both the child’s mother and off-duty Dep. Jonathan Behnen," the office said. "Thankfully, the child was saved and no one suffered any injuries during the incident."
While the mom held onto her daughter until Bonello released the girl, the off-duty police officer blocked the suspect's car outside the store and arrested him, according to CTV News.
Apparently, Behnen had been to court earlier in the morning and had stopped at the store to pick something up. The store manager knows the officer and yelled to him what was happening. That's when Behnen took action.
“In my 10 years on the road I have never seen anything like this,” said Sgt. Craig Callahan from the scene. “He truly intended to abduct this child right in front of everyone in the store.”
The sheriff's office says: "The intentions of Bonello as of yet are not known. Detectives will be investigating the incident thoroughly and will be charging Bonello in the near future. Bonello is not listed as a sexual offender or predator."
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