NYC: We need your help identifying these guys. They attempted to kidnap a 5-year-old yesterday in front of 117-02 Hillside Avenue in Queens around 8:00 pm. His mother was able to remove him from the car before they fled. If you have ANY info contact @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/8KZRty9K8p
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 16, 2021
A man seen on video trying to abduct a small child has been arrested, say police in New York, New York. James McGonagle, 24, is allegedly the individual who attempted to kidnap a 5-year-old boy Thursday in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens.
Officers originally announced the arrest through Twitter. McGonagle was booked for attempted kidnapping, reckless endangerment, and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than age 17.
UPDATE: A 24-year-old male has been arrested and charged with:
– Attempted Kidnapping
– Reckless Endangerment
– Acting in a Manner Injurious to a Child less than 17 https://t.co/WXxXyk5JEq— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 17, 2021
Surveillance and witnesses led to the arrest, an NYPD spokesperson told Law&Crime on Sunday. McGonagle went to a hospital on his own for injuries, police said. He attacked an officer while being fingerprinted, the spokesperson said.
It is unclear if he has an attorney in this matter.
Shocking video showed a man stepping out of a sedan parked by a sidewalk, picking up a small child on the sidewalk, and running off with him into the vehicle. A woman chased them. The abductor successfully got the child into the car, but the woman managed to get the child out through the open passenger-side window.
She stepped forward as Dolores Diaz Lopez.
“I said, ‘Oh my God, my kids, oh my God, my boy,” she told WABC. She and her children were going to visit her husband at work when the man grabbed her young son, Lopez said. In her account, her son was in the back seat, but she and her children pleaded for his return, and she managed to grab him when he stood.
As previously reported, police were also looking for an older man seen walking with the individual who tried to kidnap the boy. He remains a person of interest that police want to speak to, the spokesperson said on Sunday.
The older man has been described by police as light-skinned, wearing eyeglasses, wearing blue jeans, wearing an orange shirt, having black shoes, and being age 50 to 60.
Here’s a closer look at the suspects and the vehicle they were in. pic.twitter.com/B1uwOhiUJd
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 16, 2021
Police had not confirmed if he was inside the suspect sedan.
[Screengrab via NYPD News]
