synagogue

NEW YORK — A Brooklyn house of worship was the scene of an attempted kidnapping, police say, but the boy’s mother intervened at the right time to prevent the situation from escalating.

The incident occurred Wednesday morning at a synagogue in Gravesend. Police said a man entered and tried to remove a child from the building.

Rabbi Aron Lankry of the Hesed Le Avraham Synagogue described what happened when a stranger approached the 9-year-old boy on Wednesday morning.

“I was inside the synagogue. It took place right here at the entrance,” Lankry said. “He came here and started talking to the boy… When the boy didn’t pay attention to him, he grabbed his arm and started walking towards the exit.”

It was then that the boy’s mother confronted the man who was a few steps from leaving the synagogue with her son. Police sources told our sister network News 4 that the suspect is a member of the Jewish community and is known to police.

“The mother asked: ‘Do you know this child?’ He said no. Mom said, ‘What are you doing?’ And then he just ran,” Lankry said.

Lankry applauded the boy’s mother, who did what she had to do to protect her son.

“The boy was in shock and the mother stood her ground at the entrance,” the rabbi said.

Synagogue cameras captured everything, allowing Lankry to give police a clear picture of the suspected kidnapper. The rabbi said synagogue volunteers found the suspect at another Jewish institution in the neighborhood, allowing police to arrest him. The rabbi doesn’t want to imagine what might have happened if it hadn’t been for the eagle-eyed mother.

“It’s hard to be a prophet today,” Lankry said. “I can’t read minds, but actions are what express concern.”

Charges are still pending against the suspect, who has not been publicly identified. Police have yet to determine a motive.