Chaos erupted at Miami International Airport on Tuesday when a woman allegedly grabbed a crying boy from his mother and refused to hand him back.
Officials from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office have reported an incident involving a mother named Nadine Joseph, detailed by the Miami Herald. She was at Security Checkpoint 5 around 4 a.m., accompanied by her four-year-old son who was crying.
Alvina Omisri Agba, 23, from Luton, England, then allegedly offered to take the child to calm him down, to which Joseph agreed.
But as soon as she handed over the child, Agba walked away, according to an arrest report obtained by the Herald.
The worried mother then raced to follow Agba, and eventually found her sitting on the floor with her son.
According to the police report, Joseph confronted a woman named Agba, demanding the return of her son. However, the 23-year-old woman allegedly replied, “No, this is my child.”
Agba then reportedly held the child tightly with her arms and legs, preventing him from escaping. When Joseph attempted to retrieve her son, Agba is said to have pushed her aside.
Yet Joseph was still able to grab her son’s arms as police say Agba held onto his legs, and the two were trying to wrestle over the child.
A woman named Alvina Omisri Agba, 23, originally from Luton, England, was taken into custody on Tuesday following the incident, where she allegedly refused to return a little boy to his mother.
The incident happened at Miami International Airport’s Security Checkpoint 5 at around 4am
The altercation led to the young boy shouting, which drew the attention of Natylet Montano, as reported by Local 10 News. Montano was on duty at the Global Crossing Airlines check-in counter at the time.
Montano then sprang into action and grabbed the child so that he would not be hurt, and held the young boy behind the counter.
‘After my colleague brought the boy to the counter, the woman followed us behind the counter, and we promptly called 911,’ said GlobalX Air Supervisor Dayanis Ojeda to Local 10 News.
Deputies also explained that Agba crawled underneath the counter and demanded that Montano hand over the child, but three men intervened and blocked her path.
The suspect then allegedly ran away, but deputies were able to catch up with her and take her into custody.
When they then read her her rights, Agba allegedly told officers she was simply taking the child to a wall painted with a rainbow, hoping that would calm him down.
She also allegedly claimed she did not remember what happened when the boy’s mother came to retrieve her son from her, but said she ‘only did it because God told her to do it.’
The young boy sustained deep scratches to his neck, but was ultimately well enough to make his flight with his mother. International travelers are pictured here at the international airport on Friday
Yet authorities say she was not under the influence or drugs or alcohol at the time, according to Fox News.
Agba is now charged with interfering with custody and battery, and is being held at the Turner Guilford Correctional Center on a $3,500 bond.
Meanwhile, the young boy sustained deep scratches to his neck, but was ultimately well enough to make his flight with his mother.
