Kidnap attempt chaos erupted Sunday night in New York on a busy Coney Island sidewalk when a man in a black fez-style hat brazenly snatched a 6-year-old boy in front of stunned crowds. Surveillance footage shows Jonathan Robalino, 36, grabbing Rah’Sheem “Rah’Rah” Gantt and running—only to toss the screaming child to the pavement when the boy’s furious parents chased him down.
“I see this man holding my son like a football, a complete stranger,” said the boy’s mother, Sharon Robinson, 41. “If Rah’Rah hadn’t made that loud scream, that man would have taken him and done whatever he wanted… maybe take him under the boardwalk and rape him and kill him.”
The kidnap attempt occurred near Stillwell and Surf Avenues around 10 p.m. after a family outing to the beach and amusement park. Robinson said her son was running around excitedly when Robalino snatched him. In the video, Robinson and her husband sprint after the attacker, who dropped the boy and tried to flee. Robinson tackled Robalino near a candy store, where police then intervened.
“Police jumped on me,” Robinson recalled, until bystanders clarified that the man in black was the real threat. Officers arrested Robalino and charged him with attempted kidnapping and assault. Witnesses say he wept uncontrollably even after arriving at the hospital.
“We didn’t do nothing to this man. We never saw this man before, ever,” Robinson said. “I want full charges on him. I want him to have a felony.”
