'She's My Hero. She Saved My Son,': 11-Year-Old Girl Saves Little Brother From Attempted Abduction
CLEVELAND (CBS Local) -- An 11-year-old Cleveland girl is being hailed as a hero for taking quick action to save her 6-year-old brother from an attempted abduction.
Julianne Moore and her brother Hayden were playing in the front yard of their Old Brooklyn neighborhood home Thursday evening when they were approached by a man.
"He started to talk to us, but we really couldn't figure out what he was saying," Julianne told WJW. "It was like gibberish so we really didn't think much of it."
Moore said the man walked away, but then circled back and suddenly grabbed her brother by the hand and started pulling him away.
"When he tried to grab my brother, I knew like this was serious. This was not like any handshake or anything," she said. "I just grabbed my brother and went into the backyard because there was no time to panic. You just have to go with it."
Julianne immediately alerted her father, Joshua Moore, who ran down the street and confronted the suspect.
"He was about five houses down, and I said, 'Hey, did you touch my kids?' He just threw his arms at me and just continued walking," Moore told WEWS. "My daughter and I gave a full description to police, and just 10 minutes later they had him in custody. They did a great job."
Police arrested Pedro Luyando, 33, of Cleveland a half-mile away from the scene. He was charged with abduction.
Julianne said she was only following what her parents taught her and does not feel like a hero.
"My heart dropped because I know that I saved my brother. He would not be here right now," she said. "The best thing I could do was take him and go because it's not good to panic when there's problems because I could've wasted time just sitting there panicking and not knowing what to do."
Moore said he is proud of how his daughter took action.
"She's my hero. She saved my son," Moore said. "I told everyone, I truly believe my son wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her."