Neighbors Stop Abduction of 7-Year-Old Girl by Chasing and Tackling Suspect

The suspect snatched a little girl from her front lawn, authorities said.

Neighbors chased down a man who allegedly grabbed a 7-year-old girl from her front lawn, tracking him to an abandoned house where he was held down until police arrived, authorities said.

Raeshawn Perez, 26 has been charged with aggravated kidnapping and public intoxication, according to online records at the Wichita County Jail in Texas. He is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

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T.J. Smith, 11, saw the man snatch the girl from her scooter and take off walking, he told local reporters.

“I chased after him,” the boy told KAUZ-TV. Along the way, he stopped at the home of neighbor James Ware and told the adult that a child had just been kidnapped, he said.

Smith kept running after the man while Ware got his keys and jumped in his car. He worked his way around the streets and alleys until he found the suspect outside an abandoned home, Ware told the station.

The boy arrived on foot at about the same time, he said.

The suspect was lifting the girl through a window when Ware’s wife screamed at him to put her down.

Read: Police Determined to Find Killer of Child Whose Murder 20 Years Ago Prompted Amber Alerts

“I caught him in the street and kicked him in the groin,” Ware told KFDX-TV. The man ran across the road, onto a grassy area “and that’s when I tackled him,” Ware said.

The suspect said he wanted to have sex with the child, Ware said.

Police arrived and arrested Perez. It is not clear whether he has entered a plea.

A message left Wednesday with the Wichita Falls Police Department by InsideEdition.com was not immediately returned.

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