Military police officers arrested an individual this morning, as a result of an attempted kidnapping of a ten-year-old child that occurred in the Guaianases neighborhood, located in the east zone of the city.
Capture of suspect in the center of São Paulo
The man, whose identity was not revealed, was detained in the heart of the metropolis. The police team identified him during a patrol around the center, carrying out the approach on Apa Street, near Santa Cecília.
The detainee admitted involvement in the crime and was taken to the 2nd Police District to register the incident. This is the first arrest related to the incident.
Police are investigating the possibility that a second person involved in the kidnapping was found dead. In the morning, two bodies were located in the area close to the attempted abduction, and authorities are considering the hypothesis that one of them belongs to the other criminal, which adds a critical development to the investigation.
Details of the action caught by security cameras
Security camera records documented the kidnapping attempt on Tuesday. The recordings show one of the suspects, dressed in a blue coat, getting out of a taxi on Rua Moreira Neto and approaching the child, who was on the sidewalk with his bicycle.
The individual dragged the boy by the arm along the street, trying to force him into the vehicle. A young woman, visibly younger, ran in an attempt to help the boy, but to no avail.
A pedestrian who was passing by witnessed the scene and intervened to help the child. The man managed to hold the boy, placing himself between the kidnapper and the victim in an act of protection.
The attacker returned to the taxi and tried to escape, but the driver of the vehicle acted quickly, turning off the car and preventing his escape. Neighborhood residents then approached, removing the man and an accomplice from inside the taxi. Both individuals were attacked by the local population, according to data from the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat.
The Civil Police are working to determine the motivation for the crime. One of the theories investigated points out that one of the suspects had planned the kidnapping with the aim of rekindling a previous relationship with the child’s mother, which offers a possible motive for the criminal action.
The taxi driver, already identified and questioned by authorities, is not considered a participant in the kidnapping attempt. According to the SSP, he said that the two men requested the race and indicated the route. When one of the suspects attempted to abduct the child, he promptly turned off the vehicle.
Wife’s report and taxi driver’s statement about the incident
The taxi driver’s wife declared in an interview with Balanço Geral, on RecordTV, her husband’s innocence. She explained that the men hired him for a race, claiming that the child was the son of one of them. However, upon noticing the attempt to force the boy into the car, the taxi driver himself refused to continue the journey.
The version of the driver who witnessed the kidnapping attempt
Driver notices strange attitude from passengers
In a statement to journalists at the police station, the taxi driver stated that he had picked up passengers at one point and, during the journey, was informed that he would need to pick up another person in Ferraz de Vasconcelos, São Paulo.
Attempting to force the child into the vehicle
After the car stopped, one of the individuals held the child by the arm, trying to lead her into the taxi.
Allegation of suspect’s paternity is denied
The driver reported that one of the men claimed to be the child’s father, claiming that the mother had forcibly removed her from the school and that he was trying to take her back. This version was later refuted by the police.
The taxi driver described the beginning of the race, where one of the suspects was caught at one point. On the way, they were asked to look for another individual in Ferraz de Vasconcelos. After the stop, the second boy tried to force the child into the vehicle, at which point the driver acted, turning off the car and declaring that he would not continue the journey.
He expressed a feeling of anguish over the situation. His only initiative, according to the report, was to turn off the car and wait for the population to arrive before intervening.