Video surveillance footage from a Florida CVS Pharmacy shows the terrifying moment a man allegedly tried to kidnap a 4-year-old boy during a busy shopping day. The incident occurred just before noon February 8 in Miami Beach at the CVS on Collins Avenue as the child was leaving the store with his parents. Thankfully, the boy's father jumped in and thwarted 26-year-old Nicolas Sternaman's seemingly devious actions.
The video shows a busy store and a brazen attack. Although the suspect got away, he was apprehended a short time later. The child was unharmed.
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In the video, Sternaman enters the store and quickly changes his demeanor.
In the video, he appears to be a regular shopper in a black jacket and pants, but he grabs the child as soon as he lays eyes on him. The child's mother, who was walking out of the store in front of her husband and son, grabbed the boy, and the boy's father immediately began a physical struggle with Sternaman.
The father didn't hold back.
He appears extremely angry and forcefully attacks the kidnapping suspect. At one point, he grabs Sternaman's jacket off his body as they continue fighting. Sternaman is then seen leaving the store, but not in much of a hurry. Per a police report obtained by WPLG, the boy's father and another witness followed the suspect.
A foot chase ensued before police arrived.
The police report noted the father and witness continued to follow Sternaman, who had reportedly taken off his sweater while he was running away, according to WPLG. Police ultimately joined the civilians in their pursuit and arrested the suspect a short time later. He was taken into custody without incident.
Sternaman was booked and charged.
Police took Sternaman to Miami-Dade County Jail, where he was booked on charges of kidnapping a child under 13 and aggravated abuse. His bond was set at $1,000. Per WPLG, he was also arrested in early January on a petty theft charge, released on a $150 bond according to court records, and has a trial for that misdemeanor case on April 1.
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The attempted kidnapping shocked witnesses.
No one expected such a dramatic scene at CVS, and witnesses told CBS Miami that what they saw was unbelievable.
Zachary Jefferson told the news outlet that the suspect came out of "nowhere." He added, "I was just standing at the register and paying for my items and I look to the left, I mean the right and there was a guy just fighting another guy. And I thought it was someone trying to take the lady's purse."
A resident who lives nearby shared the shock.
"It's good to know these things when they happen or in time that they happen," Vanessa Rodriguez told CBS Miami. "But it makes me be a little more alert. A little bit more cautious than ever before."
