Cops Say Alleged Kidnapper May Have Just Been Being Nice
A Barboursville, W.Va mother pulled a gun on a man who she thought was trying to abduct her young daughter.
According to Barboursville PD, the mother, who was near a Huntington Mall’s food court with her 5-year-old daughter, told police a man had grabbed her daughter by the hair and tried to drag her away from inside the clothing store.
That’s when she pulled her gun and forced him to release the little girl.
Police arrested 54-year-old Mohamed Fathy Hussein Zayan and charged him with attempted abduction charges.
During the investigation police were unable to find any one who witnessed the alleged attack. A review of the mall surveillance footage however, revealed that events didn’t go quite like the mother said they did.
BPD Sgt. Anthony Jividen said the mother agreed that she may have overreacted to Zayan’s actions which appeared to be simply a good-natured patting on the head.
Zayan who is from Alexandria, Egypt, is in the area for work as an engineer and doesn’t speak any English. He reportedly cried when greeting family members after being released from jail on reduced bond.
While prosecutors will review the case to decide if the mother should face charges instead, they will also decide if Zayan could also face potential battery charges because of,
“… the uninvited touching of a child. Even though there was an overreaction by the mother, it was not completely baseless.”
The first step in any self-defense situation (if possible) is to loudly and forcibly state you are uncomfortable, and that you wish the individual making you uncomfortable to stop immediately.
Not only does this communicate how you feel, it is also a tactic to determine if there is a credible threat to which you should respond more aggressively.
If the person has honest intentions, they will immediately pick up on this social cue (whether you speak the same language or not) and move away from you.
Give a line in the sand that you do not wish to be crossed, (“DO NOT COME ANY CLOSER” “DO NOT COME PAST THE CAR” “LET GO OF MY DAUGHTER” etc.)
If they persist, or at the very least, do not stop and look at you profoundly confused, it would be reasonable to draw the conclusion that they are intentionally presenting themselves as a threat.
You could be wrong, and that’s OK. Simply apologize for your lack of grace and move on with your day. It’s far better to be thought a little rude and be safe. And as we can see from the case above, there are perceived legal benefits as well.
Don’t let social propriety get in the way of good tactics for self-defense.
What do you think of this situation? Are you too afraid to be rude? Let me know in the comments below.
