Watch the Stunning Footage Of Dolores Lopez Rescuing Her 5-Year-Old Son From a Kidnapper’s Car
Screenshot via YouTube; Screenshot via Crime Stoppers
On Friday, police arrested 24-year-old James McGonagle in connection to an almost-kidnapping that has captured the attention of the nation. The stunning footage of the attempted kidnapping went viral over the weekend. Not just for shock factor of seeing someone trying to steal a child, but for the courageous actions of the mother, 45-year-old Dolores Diaz Lopez.
Dolores Diaz Lopez was walking on the sidewalk with her three children in Queens, New York. Suddenly, a strange man leapt out of a nearby car and grabbed her youngest son, Jacob.
The strange man–later identified as James McGonagle–then shoved Jacob into the back of his car. “He picked him up like he was a bag of garbage,” said Dolores’s 9-year-old son, Benny, to the New York Post. “The car was close by. He opened the passenger door in the back and threw my brother in the car. He shut the door and locked it.”
There was also another person in the car–an older man. Benny told the New York Post that the man asked McGonagle what he was doing. McGonagle told him: “We are kidnapping the kid.” To which the man responded, “No, leave him!”
Diaz Lopez and her two children quickly leapt into action. “I ran around the other side of the car and tried to open the door,” 8-year-old Zuriley told The Post. “I pulled it but it didn’t open. The man locked the door with my brother inside the car.” It was then that Diaz Lopez was able to grab Jacob in the back seat and drag him to safety through the passenger window. McGonagle shouted at Diaz Lopez to “give him the stupid kid back” before driving away.
Police identified James McGonagle as the kidnapper after he checked himself into a hospital later that day.
At the hospital, McGonagle punched an innocent bystander in the face without provocation. He also reportedly blurted out, “I attempted to kidnap a kid today.” He has since been admitted to the psych ward. The man who was with McGonagle has since been identified as James McGonagle Sr., the kidnapper’s father. The police still don’t know where the elder McGonagle is.
But McGonagle’s arraignment has been postponed since he punched an office in the face when the officer tried to take his fingerprints. “You can’t go before the judge before we formally identify you and he won’t let us fingerprint him without knocking us in the face,” said a police source to the New York Post. “So he’ll be a guest of the government for the time being.”
As for now, Dolores Diaz Lopez is just happy that all of her children are back with her and, more importantly, safe.
“You have to do what’s necessary, no matter what,” she told ABC 13 News. “The car was just parked there. I would never have imagined that a man would get out of the car and grab my son. You always have to be aware of your surroundings and not be on your phone.”
“Mothers have to be careful with their children,” she continued. “Always hold their hand when walking with them, because there are a lot of evil people and you never know who is near.”
