What to Know
- A 76-year-old man who allegedly choked an 8-year-old girl in an attempt to kidnap her has been arrested
- The girl was standing outside in the Bronx when the man allegedly went up to her, choked her and tried to abduct her
- The girl's mother and other bystanders tried to stop him and called 911, and the man was arrested at the scene
A 76-year-old man who allegedly choked an 8-year-old girl in an attempt to kidnap her has been arrested, police said.
The girl was standing on Longwood Avenue in the Bronx, around 6:20 p.m. on Wednesday when Gaspar Argumedes, of the Bronx, allegedly went up to her off Fox Street, choked her and tried to abduct her, the NYPD said.
The girl’s mother and other bystanders saw what was happening, tried to stop him and called 911, police said.
Surveillance video shows the girl's mother, brother and other relatives fighting him off as he tried to take away the little girl. The mother grabs the man until he lets go of the girl.
Raphael Reyes owns the deli where his employees said Argumedes had just finished eating and was acting strangely.
"The guy was coming out and he saw a little girl, and he just grabbed her," said Reyes. "Like to try and kidnap her, to take her."
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Reyes knows the girl's family, and they went into his store soon after the attack.
"The mom was crying, the little girl was all shaken," he said.
Argumedes initially ran from the scene but was quickly arrested by police on charges of attempted kidnapping, criminal obstruction of breathing, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment, assault and violation/harassment, the NYPD said.
His attorney information wasn’t immediately available.
The girl's brother told News 4 New York Thursday she was not physically injured.
