Surveillance video captured a wild scene inside a Hernando, Florida, Dollar General store where a man attempted to kidnap a 13-year-old girl on Tuesday.
According to the Citrus County Sheriff's Office, Craig Bonello, 30, from Inverness, entered the store around 11:42 a.m. and grabbed the teen who was shopping with her mother.
Bonello can be seen pulling the girl by her arms and dragging her to the front door.
The teen's mother quickly jumped into action and grabbed onto her daughter, which started a "tug-of-war" between the two.
Bonello eventually let go and ran out the front door, as off-duty Deputy Jonathan Behnen was getting out of his patrol car to enter the store.
The store manager yelled to Behnen for help.
Behnen quickly jumped back into his patrol car and blocked Bonello from leaving the parking lot.
"I was shocked as a parent..." said Behnen, reflecting on watching the video.
Behnen grabbed his gun and ordered Bonello out of his car. He eventually gave up and was arrested.
"In my ten years on the road I have never seen anything like this," said Sgt. Craig Callahan from the scene. "He truly intended to abduct this child right in front of everyone in the store."
The mother and her daughter were upset, but not hurt.
Bonello has been arrested several times in the past.
Investigators are working to find out what Bonello's intentions were.
"Thank goodness the girl's mother jumped into action to prevent this man from kidnapping her daughter. And, thank goodness Dep. Behnen used his training and experience to stop this man from escaping," said Capt. Ricky Grant.
A Palm Beach County self-defense expert says the mother and daughter did the right thing by making a scene.
"She's more or less grabbing onto her daughter and making her immobile, which is probably the best thing you could do," said Sensei Cameron Divella, the owner of Legacy Martial Arts in North Palm Beach.
He uses undeniably scary mock scenarios to teach kids about self-defense. Divella teaches kids how to get out of zip ties, handcuffs, bound ties, even a locked car trunk.
Divella said it's all about getting away fast and making yourself immobile. He also teaches discipline and listening and staying close to your parents. But the mother and daughter were together in public view this chilling video. It shows us something you can't predict.
"This one you really can't prepare for, other than to tell your kids to make a loud scene," he said. "Be really loud. Be noisy. Don't go with them-no matter what."
