FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Good Samaritan spoke out about his encounter with an alleged kidnapper in Fort Lauderdale last month that was caught on camera.
Local 10′s Andrew Perez spoke with Edwin Zamora on Friday. Zamora is working at a construction site at a building in the area and says he was in his work truck waiting for co-workers, when he heard a woman screaming down an alley. He says he grabbed a metal pipe, screamed at the attacker to stop and ran to help the victim.
According to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, the alleged attempted kidnapping occurred Sept. 9 at approximately 5:58 a.m on a side street off Las Olas.
Surveillance cameras were rolling when investigators say the woman was walking along the 500 block of East Las Olas Boulevard toward Fort Lauderdale Beach, when a man ran up behind her, slammed her to the ground and dragged her.
“When I saw it, I thought about my mom, my sister, my wife. It can happen to anybody and everybody has a family. I hope everyone would do the same,” said Zamora.
Afterward, he says the man ran off and jumped on a nearby bicycle to get away.
The man captured in the video is described as a tall, Black man in his 30s who has short hair. On the date of the incident, he did not have a shirt on, but was wearing dark pants and white sneakers.
The victim has since visited Zamora at his worksite to thank him for his help that morning.
Anyone with information about this incident or the identity of the suspect is encouraged to contact Detective Tiana DeQuarto at 954-828-6559. To provide information anonymously, contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.