A father whose four-year-old son was almost kidnapped in broad daylight from a Miami pharmacy feared the kidnapper’s attempt “would have killed him” if he hadn’t fought him off.
Alleged kidnapper Nicolas Sternaman brazenly tried to snatch the little boy as he was leaving CVS with his parents around 11:55 a.m. on February 8.
As the child walked through the exit, closely following his mother, Sternaman allegedly leaned down and grabbed the little boy, prompting his father Hassan Rodriguez to lunge at the attacker.
He bravely grabbed Sternaman, 26, and pulled him away from the boy while his mother pulled her child to safety.
“He grabbed him by the neck, if I wasn’t behind him he would have killed him,” Rodriguez told police after the incident, new body camera footage obtained by NBC 6 reveals .
Miami Beach police quickly arrested Sternaman three blocks from the CVS. He was later charged with kidnapping and battery and remains jailed without bail.
Nicolas Sternaman is accused of attempting to kidnap a four-year-old child in broad daylight in front of his parents at a CVS in Miami on February 8.
Newly released body camera footage shows the moment police put Sternaman (pictured) handcuffed in the back of a patrol vehicle after his arrest for attempted kidnapping.
The boy’s father, Hassan Rodriguez (pictured), spoke to police after the attack, newly released body camera footage revealed. He told police that Sternaman “grabbed him by the neck, if I wasn’t behind him he would have killed him.”
Nicholas Sternaman, 26 (pictured), has been charged with kidnapping and battery and remains jailed without bail.
Rodriguez and his family recently left Cuba for Florida and had only been in the country for about a month when the attempted kidnapping took place.
Sternaman, after walking past Rodriguez’s wife, allegedly leaned down and grabbed the four-year-old by the neck.
A real fight broke out between the alleged kidnapper and the father, who ripped off the man’s coat at one point and even threw him against the store window.
The fight ended when Sternaman walked out of the CVS as the boy’s mother held her shaken son.
The suspected kidnapper fled the store, but Rodriguez and fellow shopper Deven Surajpal pursued him.
Surveillance footage from the pharmacy shows the moment Sternaman allegedly tried to snatch the little boy while he was out with his parents.
Miami Beach police quickly arrested Sternaman three blocks from the CVS. Body camera footage shows the moment he was apprehended by officers
A tourist who rushed to help Rodriguez called 911 and allegedly helped lead officers to Sternaman, pictured during his Feb. 8 arrest.
Surajpal, a tourist visiting the Tampa area, called 911 and allegedly helped lead officers to the suspected kidnapper.
“I just ran him over,” Surajpal told detectives, according to newly released body camera footage. “It’s a crazy man, in broad daylight, trying to snatch it, just like that, out of nowhere.”
The witness, who told police he had five children, said he rushed to help Rodriguez because he “just felt his pain” and didn’t want Sternaman to run away.
Meanwhile, the Rodriguez family says they were terrified by what happened.
“It’s very terrifying that this would happen in broad daylight, in a store where there are people,” the boy’s mother, Vanessa Selk, told WPLG after the incident, as she clutched her traumatized child. in her arms.
“Be aware of your child every second, because in one second they can be taken away,” Rodriguez added.
The alleged kidnapper, Nicolas Sternaman, was entering the CVS on Collins Avenue at 11:55 a.m. when he made his daring kidnapping attempt.
As the child walked through the exit, closely following his mother, Sternaman allegedly leaned down and grabbed the little boy, prompting Rodriguez to lunge at him.
Rodriguez bravely grabbed Sternaman, 26, and pulled him away from the boy while his mother pulled her child to safety.
Sternaman was arrested and reportedly refused to explain to police why he tried to kidnap the child.
He has since been charged with kidnapping and battery and imprisoned.
In another body camera video, officers are heard discussing his arrest, with one describing the incident as “the strangest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Another said: “Don’t even ask him questions…we gave him a good shake didn’t we? Nothing on him? We shook him, are you sure, we stroked him really well? There was nothing on him, no identification papers, nothing?
Sternaman was previously arrested for petit theft in Miami Beach in July, an incident for which he is still awaiting trial.
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