A father whose four-year-old son was almost kidnapped in broad daylight from a Miami drugstore feared the attempted kidnapping “would have killed him” if he had not stopped him.
Suspected kidnapper Nicolas Sternaman attempted to brutally take the little boy as he left the CVS with his parents on February 8 around 11:55 a.m.
As the child walked through the exit, following closely behind his mother, Sternaman reportedly leaned over and grabbed the little boy, prompting his father Hassan Rodriguez to shoot at the attacker.
He bravely grabbed Sternaman, 26, and wrestled him away from the boy as 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. NBC6 revealed.
Miami Beach police quickly arrested Sternaman three blocks from the CVS. He was subsequently charged with kidnapping and battery and remains in custody without bond.
Nicolas Sternaman is accused of trying 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 handcuffed Sternaman (pictured) into the back of a cruiser after he was arrested for attempted kidnapping
The boy’s father, Hassan Rodriguez (pictured) spoke to police after the attack, newly released body camera footage revealed. He told officers 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 moved from Cuba to Florida and had only been in the country for about a month when the attempted kidnapping occurred.
After walking past Rodriguez’s wife, Sternaman allegedly leaned over and grabbed the four-year-old by the neck.
A violent fight broke out between the alleged kidnapper and the father, who at one point took off the man’s jacket and even slammed him against the store’s glass.
The fight ended with Sternaman strolling out of the CVS as the boy’s mother held her shocked son.
The alleged kidnapper fled the store, but Rodriguez and fellow shopper Deven Surajpal chased him.
Pharmacy surveillance footage shows the moment Sternaman allegedly tried to snatch the little boy as he left with his parents
Miami Beach police quickly arrested Sternaman three blocks from the CVS. Body camera footage shows the moment he was stopped by officers
A tourist who rushed to help Rodriguez called 911 and reportedly helped lead officers to Sternaman, pictured during his Feb. 8 arrest
Surajpal, a tourist from the Tampa area, called 911 and reportedly helped officers find the attempted kidnapper.
“I just hit him,” Surajpal told investigators, according to newly released body camera footage. “This is a crazy man, just trying to grab things out of thin air in broad daylight.”
The witness, who told officers he had five children of his own, said he rushed to help Rodriguez because he “just felt his pain” and didn’t want Sternaman to get away.
Meanwhile, the Rodriguez family says they were terrified by what happened.
“It’s very scary that it happens during the day, in a store where people are around,” said the boy’s mother, Vanessa Selk. WPLG after the incident while holding her traumatized child.
“Be aware of your child every second because in a second they can be taken away,” Rodriguez added.
The suspected kidnapper, Nicolas Sternaman, entered the CVS on Collins Avenue at 11:55 a.m. as he made his audacious kidnapping attempt.
As the child walked through the exit, following closely behind his mother, Sternaman reportedly leaned over and grabbed the little boy, prompting Rodriguez to shoot at him.
Rodriguez bravely grabbed Sternaman, 26, and wrestled him away from the boy as his mother pulled her child to safety
Sternaman was arrested and reportedly refused to explain to police why he had allegedly tried to take the child.
He has since been charged with kidnapping and assault and remains in jail.
In another body camera video, officers can be heard discussing his arrest, with one describing the incident as the “strangest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Another said: ‘You don’t even have to question him… we gave him a good shake, right? Nothing about him? We shook him, are you sure, we knocked him really good? There was nothing on him, no IDs, nothing?’
Sternaman was previously arrested for petty theft in Miami Beach in July, an incident for which he is still awaiting trial.
