A man is charged in Maricopa County, Arizona, with attempting to run off with an elementary school student who was walking to school. Police say that is Joseph Ruiz, 37, on video engaging in the failed kidnapping.
He faces a count each of kidnapping and custodial interference, according to Phoenix-area outlets KTVK/KPHO. Authorities did not specify if he has a prior connection to the child.
Footage obtained by the outlet shows a sedan making a U-turn toward a child, who was walking on a sidewalk.
In the video, dated Friday at 7:56 a.m., the vehicle stopped along the sidewalk. The student passed by and the driver stepped out of the car and briefly gave chase on foot.
The student ran away, and the driver quickly quit the pursuit, returning to the sedan.
Administrators at Sunset Elementary School wrote parents a letter, saying that the girl had noticed the suspect follow her from her apartment.
Officers in the Phoenix-area city of Glendale said they managed to track Ruiz down by identifying the vehicle.
Joseph Ruiz drove up to a 5th grader while she was walking to school, and he stepped out of his vehicle in an attempt to abduct her, say cops in the Phoenix-area city of Glendale, Arizona. (Screenshot and mug shot: KTVK/KPHO)
“I would note that he has a history of violence,” a prosecutor reportedly said in court. “He was convicted of an aggravated assault, a class 3 dangerous felony, after having stabbed his mother in the neck.”
The footage belongs to local woman Nayeli Martinez.
“Oh my god,” she said. “It gave me goosebumps.”
Three children reportedly helped the child, a 5th grader, hide after the encounter.
“I think they were very brave for their age,” Amcy Borquez, a relative of the young Good Samaritans, told the outlet.. “I’m telling them all day, like you’re heroes.”
