NYC Man Arrested After Attempting to Kidnap 6-Year-Old Boy Walking With His Father in Broad Daylight

A New York City man was arrested and charged with attempting to kidnap a six-year-old boy who was walking with his father on Saturday afternoon.

Stephen Stowe, 28, has been charged with attempted kidnapping and harassment for the failed abduction.

Officers for the New York Post Department (NYPD) said the incident happened around 3:30 p.m. Saturday on Kingston Avenue in Crown Heights. Authorities said there were no serious injuries to the six-year-old.

Man Caught in Attempted Kidnapping of 6-Year-Old

A horrifying surveillance video shared by the NYPD showed the father of the child walking down the street while holding hands with his two sons, including the six-year-old. Stowe, who was wearing a mask and a blue-and-white letterman jacket at the time, suddenly scoops the young boy into his arms.

The father was then seen pulling his son back before pushing Stowe away from him and his children. Stowe fled on foot but was arrested the next morning.

Police said there were no words exchanged between Stowe and the boy's father before or during the botched kidnapping, per the New York Post. It is unclear why Stowe targeted the child.

Crown Heights is home to a large community of ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Jewish people of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Yaacov Behrman, public relations representative of the group, said he spoke to the father of the six-year-old, who said he wanted to express gratitude for the swift actions taken by the NYPD.

"He also mentioned that his kids are doing okay, everyone is fine, and he is grateful for the outpouring of love from around the world," Behrman noted.

Attacks Against NYC's Ultra-Orthodox Community

In August, Yechiel Dabrowskin, a 33-year-old Jewish man, was stabbed in the stomach by Brooklyn resident Vincent Sumpter, 22, near a synagogue in the Crown Heights neighborhood. Prior to the stabbing, police said Sumpter had been yelling antisemitic slurs, asked Dabrowskin, "Do you want to die?" and shouted "Free Palestine" before he attacked the 33-year-old with his blade, as reported by AP News.

Sumpter, who had no prior criminal record in NYC, was arrested and charged with second and third-degree assault. Four of the counts would be prosecuted as hate crimes.