A happy ending to a frightening ordeal for the mother of one little girl Friday. Angelica DeLeon says two men tried to kidnap her 2-year-old daughter right out of her arms.
The mother was inside the church and it was just minutes away before the start of new mass, the last place she'd ever expect an attempted kidnapping to take place.
DeLeon says the men didn't say anything, but one man tried to grab the toddler while the other grabbed her from behind.
DeLeon says she was alone inside St. Vincent DePaul's Church with her 2-year-old and 8-month-old baby in a stroller when the men approached. She was so scared, she says, she couldn't even scream. The men never actually took the child and DeLeon quickly got help from witnesses who not only called authorities but followed one of the suspects until the police arrived.
"Had it not been for the citizens who decided to get involved, we would have probably not caught these individuals," said LAPD Lt. Vito Palazzolo. "We don't know if they've done this before. There is no indication that they have. Right now, they are going to be arrested for attempting to take that child."
The two suspects that were detained were being questioned the LAPD Southwest Division.
Authorities have not released their names, but said one is a 38-year-old male, the other a 55-year-old male.
