An off-duty, pregnant NYPD officer is being celebrated as a hero for rescuing her young son from an attempted kidnapping outside a Brooklyn McDonald's earlier this week. Anyia James Roberts, who is seven months pregnant, intervened when a woman attempted to snatch her 4-year-old son from his grandmother.
According to the child's father, Gentle Roberts, the incident occurred around 5 p.m. on East Parkway near Utica Avenue. The boy was with his 66-year-old grandmother when the stranger grabbed the child by his shirt, attempting to pull him away. "She was saying, 'That's my kid!' She was saying that more than once," Roberts told the New York Post. "The lady grabbed him by his shirt on his shoulder, and she wouldn't let go. She was fighting his grandmother. They were pulling him back and forth, and he started crying."
Roberts described the suspect as clean and not appearing to be homeless, noting she had a phone. "They never seen her before," he added.
When his wife, Anyia, stepped in, she was able to secure their son. "His mom pulled him away from her," Gentle Roberts said of his wife. "She's a strong woman. She's back at work today."
The child was reportedly scared and crying but was otherwise unharmed and returned to school the following day. The suspect fled the scene after Roberts intervened. Police have released surveillance images of the woman and are asking for the public's assistance in locating her. Anyone with information is urged to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.