A 6-year-old girl is being praised for her bravery after she bit a man trying to kidnap her from the yard of her mother's apartment on Monday, Florida police said.
The little girl named Lyric was playing with her siblings at about 8 p.m. when police said a man grabbed her arm as she sat on the steps in the back of her building.
The girl screamed and fought back by biting him on the arm until he let her go.
“He picked me up and then he slapped me,” Lyric told WPLG-TV. “Then he threw me on the floor and started running.”
She said she ran away to tell her aunt what happened.
Miami Police Department spokesperson Kiara Delva praised the little girl for her bravery.
“She fought for her safety, which ultimately saved her from a potentially very dangerous situation,” said Officer Delva. “We’re thankful that she did enough to save her life.” .
Investigators said they were able to identify the man after finding his image on security video from the apartment building. They later arrested 32-year-old Leonardo Venegas for the alleged kidnapping attempt.
“You have to teach your kids not to speak to strangers and protect themselves even when you’re not around,” said Tisha McGill, the mother of the girl.
Delva said police are concerned that there might be other victims because of the nature of this alleged crime.
“We’re quite concerned because obviously this subject is quite brazen that he would do something like this in a community where there’s many other people around that could have saw exactly what occurred,” she added. “We’re hoping that anybody in the community that may have been a victim to being assaulted by this particular suspect comes forward and reports it to the police so they can continue their investigation."
McGill said that they'll likely move away after the incident.
Venegas is being held without bond at the Metro West Detention Center and was charged with kidnapping and child abuse.
He's also on an ICE immigration hold.
Here's the interview with Lyric:
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