Taco Restaurant Employee Hailed As Hero For Stopping Kidnapping
WESTCHESTER (CBSLA.com) — Families in Westchester said they are breathing a sigh of relief following a kidnap attempt Wednesday.
The families are crediting an employee of T2 Tacos, a restaurant in the 7100 block of Manchester Drive, for being the hero who stopped the kidnap attempt.
Residents told KCAL9's Brittney Hopper that a nanny was walking with a 4-year-old boy Wednesday afternoon -- in broad daylight -- when a man attempted to steal the child.
The employee -- a man named Jesus Delgado -- intervened, stopped the man and held him until authorities arrived. (The suspect has been arrested and charged with kidnapping.)
On Thursday evening, the boy's grateful parents and several mothers from the community went to the restaurant to thank Delgado for his efforts.
The mothers told Hopper that crime was increasing in their neighborhood. In addition to praising Jesus, they also asked police for a larger presence in their community.
Hopper spoke to the baby's emotional father who said he couldn't ever thank Delgado enough.
"How can you explain, the feeling that you have of gratitude for someone who saved you son's life? It's really an amazing thing that he did," said Tom O'Brien.
The suspect grabbed the boy and started running. The nanny screamed for help and Delgado ran after the suspect.
Delgado, a husband and father of a little girl with special needs, told Hopper running after the suspect was just instinct. He doesn't think he did anything heroic.
"It's incredible," he said, "Never have I [felt] this."
A group called Moms With Westchester & Playa del Rey heard about Delgado's act of heroism and wanted to say thank you.
The group started a GoFundMe account to raise money for Delgado and his special needs child.
"We just wanted to say thank you for being alert and being aware," said mom Jessica Echeverry.