WA - Boy Snatched By Man In Gorilla Suit

[Pharlap]

Wonder how many keystone cops there are, protecting us.....:doh:

 

[Ang50]

"Check the false name the man gave" !!!!!! So - this guy could have a record, could be a sex offender, and but for the dad chasing him down, could have taken this boy. Or - can you imagine the public outcry if this guy HAD committed a kidnapping after the incident?

This has shades of Jeffery Dahmer - the Milwaukee police responded to a 14 year old boy wandering the streets nude and bleeding. Police questioned the boy, then released him BACK to Dahmer, who had explained that the boy was 19 and they had just had a lover's quarrel. (Of course, had they checked, they would have found that Dahmer was a registered sex offender).

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

This was no joke! I watched the video and as far as I can see, this was an abduction! He grabbed that poor child and ran. I can just imagine what went throught the dad and mom's mind as they chased after him. Thank goodness he was caught. I don't even want to think of what he might have done to this precious child. I agree w/ Ang50, I'm afraid the police would have had to scrape this creep's face from the floor if he dared to touch my child.

Actually, in the video the store is clearly a magic/joke shop with part of the store designed to look like a dungeon, compelte with what look like skeleton arms reaching out between the bars. I think this is a case of somebody over reacting.

 

[TGIRecovered]

Terrorizing a child is not a joke. The abused that little boy by stealing him from his parents and scaring the crap out of him with the gorilla suit. Doesn't matter if the idiot calls it a prank or a joke.

If a couple of stinky ugly muscle-bound strangers attacked you from behind and dragged you screaming and peeing your pants toward the parking lot, would you be the one that was over-reacting?

Is it just no big deal because the victim was a child, or because some poor excuse for an adult claims he was playing a prank?

Please excuse me while I shake my head in disgust.

Susan

 

[Gmommy]

Please excuse me while I shake my head in disgust.

Susan

Yeah, I agree. The guymay have seriously thought it was just a prank but this is just not the type of prank you play. It is a crime though too bad there isn't a crime for stupidity on the books because maybe the guy could've gotten off on a lesser charge.

I got grabbed by an adult at a rollerskating rink when I was around 12-13 and the guy claimed he was just trying to do a skating lift-but I still wonder if I hadn't kicked and screamed what may have happened. The manager just told the guy to leave me alone, he didn't kick the guy out, he didn't have the guy apologize to me and I was terrified to be there so I called my mom to have her come pick my friends and I up. I don't think I ever set foot in that rink again.

Stuff like this stays with you forever-and at this little guy's age-FIVE-I cannot even imagine how terrified he was.

 

[kgeaux]

Actually, in the video the store is clearly a magic/joke shop with part of the store designed to look like a dungeon, compelte with what look like skeleton arms reaching out between the bars. I think this is a case of somebody over reacting.

Billy, I so often agree with you! But not this time. ANYTIME a stranger grabs a child and runs, it isn't overreacting for the parents to chase down the perp and hold him for police. AND it isn't overreacting to expect the police to do their job. If LE investigates thoroughly and finds no reason to arrest, that is one thing. But to take a (false) name and not even check it out is irresponsible on the part of LE.

IF this guy has any history of sexual abuse of children, then this may not have been a joke at all. Granted, once the guy was arrested, it does seem to have been a harmless prank by a rather niave young man, BUT what if it hadn't been? What if LE just assumed it was a prank and let an abuser of kids go loose without even checking him out?

I think the parents are well within normal bounds to expect LE to check things out more carefully than this from now on!!

I betcha that little boy will have nightmares about this incident for a long time---

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

Billy, I so often agree with you! But not this time. ANYTIME a stranger grabs a child and runs, it isn't overreacting for the parents to chase down the perp and hold him for police. AND it isn't overreacting to expect the police to do their job. If LE investigates thoroughly and finds no reason to arrest, that is one thing. But to take a (false) name and not even check it out is irresponsible on the part of LE.

IF this guy has any history of sexual abuse of children, then this may not have been a joke at all. Granted, once the guy was arrested, it does seem to have been a harmless prank by a rather niave young man, BUT what if it hadn't been? What if LE just assumed it was a prank and let an abuser of kids go loose without even checking him out?

I think the parents are well within normal bounds to expect LE to check things out more carefully than this from now on!!

I betcha that little boy will have nightmares about this incident for a long time---

When I was 7 a guy dressed like a cave man chased me through the side show at the state fair, but oddly enough, I got over it. I was more traumatized by my cousin trying to make me pet his pet horned toad, actually.

 

[Gina_M]

Billy, I so often agree with you! But not this time. ANYTIME a stranger grabs a child and runs, it isn't overreacting for the parents to chase down the perp and hold him for police. AND it isn't overreacting to expect the police to do their job. If LE investigates thoroughly and finds no reason to arrest, that is one thing. But to take a (false) name and not even check it out is irresponsible on the part of LE.

IF this guy has any history of sexual abuse of children, then this may not have been a joke at all. Granted, once the guy was arrested, it does seem to have been a harmless prank by a rather niave young man, BUT what if it hadn't been? What if LE just assumed it was a prank and let an abuser of kids go loose without even checking him out?

I think the parents are well within normal bounds to expect LE to check things out more carefully than this from now on!!

I betcha that little boy will have nightmares about this incident for a long time---

I agree. Imagine if the parents had the attitude of, "Oh, look, someone's playing a prank", and then it turns out their child actually was being kidnapped. One can never be too cautious, IMO.

 

[julianne]

When I was 7 a guy dressed like a cave man chased me through the side show at the state fair, but oddly enough, I got over it. I was more traumatized by my cousin trying to make me pet his pet horned toad, actually.

Yeah, but....IMO, there is a HUGE difference between someone chasing someone and someone else picking up a child and running away with him.

This loser is damn lucky it wasn't MY kid that he pulled this so called "prank" on. I would've made sure he wound up in a hospital for a few days, at the very least.

The cops involved are a joke and deserve to get fired.

 

[Gmommy]

When I was 7 a guy dressed like a cave man chased me through the side show at the state fair, but oddly enough, I got over it. I was more traumatized by my cousin trying to make me pet his pet horned toad, actually.

Well, a horned toad would probably disturb a lot of kids But back when you were a kid Captain Caveman was probably on television so a caveman may not have seemed as scary (just a guess on the Captain Caveman thing, you may be older or younger than that cartoon's shelf life) LOL

I do think it is possible this guy was playing a prank-not a very well thought out prank at all. I feel sorry for him since there is not a crime on the books for stupidity but if he is charged with false imprisonment-which is likely a lesser degree crime than kidnapping-he'll deserve the charges even if it does seem unfair. I will bet he'll never do something like this again.

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

Well, a horned toad would probably disturb a lot of kids But back when you were a kid Captain Caveman was probably on television so a caveman may not have seemed as scary (just a guess on the Captain Caveman thing, you may be older or younger than that cartoon's shelf life) LOL

I do think it is possible this guy was playing a prank-not a very well thought out prank at all. I feel sorry for him since there is not a crime on the books for stupidity but if he is charged with false imprisonment-which is likely a lesser degree crime than kidnapping-he'll deserve the charges even if it does seem unfair. I will bet he'll never do something like this again.

When I was 7 Captain Caveman wouldn't be on the air for probably 5 or 6 years. No, I just think kids pick up on how their parents react to things as a gauge as to how they respond to things. The guy dressed like a caveman was actually more like a Wild Man from Borneo, with fake fur glued on his body, an ape mask, a leopard skin toga, and a fake club. Because my father laughed when I ran to him, I realized there was no real threat. Over-reacting by parents can be even more traumatizing--like when mom freaks out when she walks in on junior polishing his carrot and imprints on him that sex is dirty.

 

[Gmommy]

Over-reacting by parents can be even more traumatizing--like when mom freaks out when she walks in on junior polishing his carrot and imprints on him that sex is dirty.

:crazy: Oh, beta carotene why must you be so good

I think I would have to laugh at a person with fake fur glued to their body, especially at a side show. It was a fairly safe bet that the cave person was associated with the sideshow event you were at so your dad's reaction was appropriate.

I'm not so sure I would know how to react if a person dressed in a gorilla costume just randomly grabbed my kid from a grocery store unless I thought there was a radio station associated with the incident. This gorilla guy tried to run outside of the store with the kid-that's where he took it from stupid prank to stupid crime in my opinion.

 

[BillyGoatGruff]

:crazy: Oh, beta carotene why must you be so good

I think I would have to laugh at a person with fake fur glued to their body, especially at a side show. It was a fairly safe bet that the cave person was associated with the sideshow event you were at so your dad's reaction was appropriate.

I'm not so sure I would know how to react if a person dressed in a gorilla costume just randomly grabbed my kid from a grocery store unless I thought there was a radio station associated with the incident. This gorilla guy tried to run outside of the store with the kid-that's where he took it from stupid prank to stupid crime in my opinion.

Look at the video tape. The store is decorated like a dungeon/haunted house and the gorilla is running to what looks like the back of the store, down a wide aisle, not the front (the parents are standing right in front of what looks like a door that leads to the street).

I could understand the flap if it turned out the guy WAS a convicted sex offender, but that does not appear be the case or SEX OFFENDER DRESSED LIKE GORILLA NABS KID would be smeared all over the story.

I'm just waiting for some parent to bring charges because their kid cried/got scared/traumatized when they stuck him on Santa's lap at the mall.

 

[KatK]

You realize, there have been cases of child abduction, where the kidnapper ran to the back of the store and exited? They knew that they'd be less likely to get apprehended by going out the back way, less traffic that way, less witnesses too. The fact that he ran towards the back of the store does not make him more credible in his claims that "it was just a prank". You do not grab another person and run off with them, PERIOD especially if you don't know them at all. That should be survivor's instinct on the part of the prankster.