Shocking Attempted Abduction of a 7 year old Child
This is a horrific video to watch. Even worse if you have kids or grand kids. Unfortunately, it is one we all need to watch because there are violent people in this world and we need to be prepared. There isn’t always time to dial 911.
When it is a matter of seconds, police are minutes away
Click here for Security Camera Footage of Attack
Newsweek published an article. They didn’t even share the security camera footage. They must have believed it would have triggered us. Here is the link if you want to compare: Watered Down Newsweek Version
I want to be triggered. I want to feel the visceral emotion and be prepared to be courageous enough to intervene. We all need to be prepared for that day. All our children deserve protection.
Violence doesn’t just happen; there are always pre-assault indicators. Some we recognize and some are our instincts and intuition giving us a bad feeling. As I watch and re-watch this video, there are decisive points that stand out to me where I could have acted to avoid or more effectively respond.
By visualizing and then replicating the attack in my home, I can respond faster should a similar attack happen. Why? Because if a similar attack happens, I have thought about what I could do from trusting my intuition to move sooner to fighting back (improvised and personal weapons)
Here are my thoughts:
Focus on the predator. That is not a normal walk. Now watch the grandmother and child go in and out. Are they possibly denying their instincts and intuition as they go in and out of the doorway? And then it is too late.
“Every victim of violence who lived to tell the tale said they had a bad feeling first”
- SPEAR Maxim
Trusting that feeling doesn’t cost us anything.
The predator uses his foot to block the door. Was the grandmother just trying to hold the door and prevent it from opening. Don’t make it a strength contest against a predator. Think about pushing a car. I want to drive all my strength into the door, not just brace it.
Improvised Weapon. Not my firearm. At home, my firearm is stored safely. I can access quickly but probably not quickly enough with the predator following me in. We have a vase by the door that I could use to strike him with. Repeatedly. Maybe allowing me to close and lock the door.
Talk to my kid or grand kid. After watching this attack, I might think of giving my kid or grand kid a code word to hide in another room and to call 911 from another room. This would give greater space to defend if I had to retreat from the front door. I walked through this scenario and thought again of improvised weapons to give me an advantage or getting to a firearm. And if you worry about terrifying your kids, think about all the fire, tornado and active shooter drills they already do at schools. This won’t make them think twice.
Primal Gross Motor Skill. During the last century we have outsourced our safety to be a civilized society. However, we survived tens of thousands of years before the last 100 years because we had learned to be human weapons. Simple primal gross motor skills you can learn and remember in a day.
Sure we can always train more, but I can be that human weapon to defend myself and others in a day.
I replicated it and now it is your turn. What do you gain? Mind Speed. There is always a gap between stimulus (dangerous violent attack) and response. If I have “war-gamed” it in my mind and run slow deliberate reps then my mind will decide faster and I will act faster.
“The mind navigates the body”
The writer, Robert Hamilton is a former LEO and current law enforcement/civilian self defense trainer in the central North Carolina and Virginia area. He also does online coaching. Many of the concepts talked about are from SPEAR (Spontaneous Protection Enabling Accelerated Response) Defense. He is a certified trainer in SPEAR Defense and conducts one day training for individuals and small groups.