Surveillance video captured the moment a New York City mom ran after a man who was trying to kidnap her teenage daughter on January 23.
The footage was obtained by the New York Post and shows 18-year-old Lex arriving at her mother’s apartment unit at about 9 a.m. in Astoria as a man grabs her from behind and drags her away.
The woman’s screaming alarmed her 35-year-old mother, Adriana Alvarez, who is seen running after the two in the video.
Alvarez said she struggled with the man for four stories before bystanders jumped in to help her. She was able to fight him off and rescue her daughter.
“I’ve never heard my daughter scream like that,” Alvarez said to the Post. “I thought maybe the dog had run downstairs, but I step out to see my daughter being dragged away.”
Alvarez, who weighs only 130 pounds and stands 5 foot 4 inches tall, fought with the man, who was later described as 230 pounds and 6 foot 2 inches tall. He beat her in the face and then pepper sprayed both women.
Alvarez suffered serious injuries, including a dislocated shoulder, a fractured orbital socket, and a broken elbow.
Their screaming alerted another resident of the apartment building, who came out and beat the attacker with a stick. Alvarez used the occasion to rush her daughter into the man’s unit.
The man continued to go after the girl by sticking his foot in the door of the apartment to prevent it from shutting him out.
“I tried pushing his foot out, and he grabbed me by the hair,” said Alvarez, who was pulled into the vestibule of the building.
The two were able to pull away from the attacker and yell for help from others. Another resident came out and helped detain the man until police arrived.
“I knocked him on the floor,” said Gus Bougas to NBC News. “And once I go on top of him he couldn’t go nowhere.”
The man was arrested and identified as 25-year-old George Vassiliou, a man who had worked at a deli alongside the daughter and had become obsessed with her. The girl said that he had begun following her and that she had called police twice over his unwanted attention.
Sources with the NYPD told the Post that Vassiliou had rented a car and police found a number of alarming items inside, including sleeping pills, melatonin, and tampons. He also had rope and a knife, according to the sources.
Vassiliou faces a slew of charges, including attempted kidnapping, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and burglary.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the heroic mother pay for her mounting medical bills and for lost wages while she heals before returning to work. So far, it has raised over $35k.
“You never imagine this kind of thing would happen to you, especially in your own building,” said the mom. “It was horrible.”
Here’s the video of the attack:
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