Saturday, December 08, 2007

Field trip chaperone tackles man trying to nab 4-year-old :: Naperville Sun :: News

Good news from a suburban midwest mall.
Field trip chaperone tackles man trying to nab 4-year-old :: Naperville Sun :: News Field trip chaperone tackles man trying to nab 4-year-old
Way to go dad. Gives added meaning to the slogan that Chicago is the city with big shoulders.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

full story:

Field trip chaperone tackles man trying to nab 4-year-old

December 7, 2007
By Rebecca O'Halloran The Courier News

WEST DUNDEE -- A field trip chaperone helped tackle a man who grabbed a 4-year-old from among a group of children visiting Spring Hill Mall on Thursday morning, police said.

Arthur Robinzine, 19, of 818 S. Wolcott Ave. in Chicago has been charged with unlawful restraint, aggravated battery in a public place and resisting arrest after he grabbed the boy at about 9:15 a.m., according to police.

The child was walking with his class from Elgin's Two Rivers Head Start program near the mall's food court when Robinzine stood up from a bench and began following the group, West Dundee police Chief Dave Sawyer said.

As soon as Robinzine picked up the victim and attempted to walk away, he was tackled to the ground by a group chaperone and a mall store employee, Sawyer said. The child wasn't injured, Sawyer said.

"It's uncertain at this point what his intentions were," Sawyer said.

Robinzine underwent a medical examination later Thursday at Sherman Hospital in Elgin, where he was expected to spend the night for observation, Sawyer said. A bond hearing was scheduled for this morning, Sawyer said.

The 4-year-old boy was accompanied by 10 classmates, about three Two Rivers staff members and six parent chaperones, said Jane Whitaker, executive director of Two Rivers Head Start Agency.

As soon as Robinzine picked up the boy, one of the fathers with the group came up from behind and tackled Robinzine to the ground, Whitaker said. An employee from a nearby cell phone store also helped to "save the day," she said. Mall security responded shortly after, according to police.

Sun-Times News Group