The Miami Police Department on Tuesday honored and celebrated a 6-year-old girl for bravely fighting off an abduction attempt by biting her accused abductor on the arm.
The young girl, Ah’lyric, was playing with her cousins and siblings in the courtyard of her apartment complex when a man came up and grabbed her arm, her mother told USA Today. She fought back and bit him when he picked her up and tried to carry her away.
“I bit him on his arm,” Ah’lyric told USA Today, adding that her mom taught her the self-defense move.
Ah’Lyric shared with USA Today that she received a new bicycle, a baby doll and a little police badge from the police department at the celebrations. She said she enjoyed the celebrations and loved the gifts.
Ah’Lyric’s mom shared with USA Today that while her daughter is doing well after the incident, she was bothered and restless in her sleep.
Police track down man from security footage
Arrest documents, provided by the Miami Police Department, state that Ah’lyric was with her siblings and cousins when they saw a white SUV park near the complex. The other kids went inside, but the 6-year-old sat on the stairway when she was suddenly grabbed by a man who pulled her towards the back of the stairs.
In response, Ah’lyric pushed him away and bit him, causing him to drop her, according to documents from the police department. The man then slapped her and ran away towards the front of the apartment complex, allowing the girl to run and tell her aunt what happened, the documents said.
The incident happened around 8 p.m. on Thursday, the Miami Police Department said in a news release.
‘Tragedy’:Kidnapped baby dies after suspect slams Camaro into Ohio home
Police reviewed security footage from the apartment complex, which showed the man’s vehicle pulling into the complex. In the footage, the man, later identified as 32-year-old Leonardo Venegas, is seen walking up to the staircase where the girl was and running back out towards the parking lot before the white SUV leaves the complex.
Ah’lyric saw the footage and confirmed the man in the video is the one who tried to kidnap her, the documents said.
Investigators were able to track the SUV because the car passed a license plate reader.
Venegas was found two days later on Saturday and taken into custody. He was charged with kidnapping and child abuse with no great bodily harm, police said.
Missing:Cleveland teen missing since house party could be abducted, police say
Contributing: Saleen Martin, USA TODAY