A frightening video shows 30-year-old Craig Bonello calmly pushing a shopping cart, then walks toward a 13-year-old girl and her mum. Grabbed the girl and started dragging her away from her mum. Fortunately, the girl's mum got into action and started running after the man who was dragging her daughter on the floor.
The frightening part was that this was in broad daylight, there were other shoppers in sight and there was a tug of war between the mum and the suspect. One would think that the would-be abductor would have fled once the mum saw what he was trying to do, but no, he kept dragging the girl and fighting off the mum.
When he realized that the mum wasn't going to let go of her child, he fled the store.
Citrus County Sheriff's office in a statement said Bonello was caught and arrested and will be charged with kidnapping and child abuse. No one was injured in the attack and the incident is under investigation. "In my 10 years on the road I have never seen anything like this," Sgt. Craig Callahan said of the incident the statement. "He truly intended to abduct this child right in front of everyone in the store."
"The contents of this video may be disturbing. Sheriff’s Office officials have released a portion of the surveillance video from inside the Dollar General in Hernando where an attempted abduction occurred today before noon.
Craig Bonello, 30, of Hernando, was taken into custody and will be charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of child abuse. For that reason, the 13-year-old victim’s identity will not be released.
Again, we are grateful for the courageous acts of both the child’s mother and off-duty Dep. Jonathan Behnen. Thankfully, the child was saved and no one suffered any injuries during the incident."
Fortunately, Deputy Jonathan Behnen, who was off duty, happened to be in the store when Bonello tried to flee the scene.
"The store manager yelled to Dep. Behnen that the man running away had just tried to kidnap a child," police said in the statement.
"Behnen jumped into action, pulling his patrol car in front of the suspect's vehicle as he tried to exit the parking lot. He then ordered the man out of the car with his weapon in hand."
Police said Bonello has a criminal history, including trespassing, aggravated battery and other misdemeanors.
Bonello's uncle, Tony Bonello told NBC News of his nephew :
"It's just sad that this has happened, because this is not the kid that grew up with my kids," . "He needs to talk to some psychiatrists and find out what the issue is."
