When a kidnapper tried to take two small children in broad daylight on an ordinary day, it quickly turned into every parent’s worst nightmare.
It all started when a mother and her three kids waited outside Chuck’s Gas Station in Las Cruces, New Mexico, for an Uber. As they waited, the mother saw a strange man peering at them. A short while later, the would-be kidnapper took one of her kids.
After a brief altercation, the family hurried back inside the gas station while the man after them. A student athlete came in to save the day at that point.
A 16-year-old wrestler named Canaan Bower noticed the commotion and jumped in to aid. Canaan dropped the culprit to the ground and pinned him until help arrived using his wrestling skills. The entire episode lasted less than five minutes, but to Canaan it seemed like a lifetime.
Canaan said that he was worried that the kidnapper might be carrying a knife or gun, but that his duty to save others exceeded his need to protect himself.
Dana White, the president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the mixed martial arts champions Henry Cejudo and Jorge Masvidal afterwards hailed him as a hero. He also won the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week award.
