Video shows the man trying to yank a six-year-old boy from his father in Brooklyn, New York.
The boy was pulled so hard that his feet came off the ground, but the boy's father never lost his grip.
It happened in front of multiple cameras on Saturday while the father and son were on their way to a Shabbos gathering in Crown Heights.
The boy's mother says the strangest thing about this is that the suspect is their neighbor. They have seen him before and say he has never said or done anything unusual.
"He'd always hold the door, he always was nice," the mother said.
She says she has heard from neighbors that something else was going on with the 28-year-old suspect, and that he'd had a bad day.
She says members of the Jewish community are already on edge with the citywide increase in anti-Semitic incidents since October 7 of last year.
"I don't think it was a hate crime, but it was scary. It was like a scary incident. When you live in New York, you don't expect someone to attack a six-year-old and take him away from his parents," she adds.
The mother says she is proud of her husband and son for the way they held on to each other and did not let go. She says her little boy will be getting therapy, and her family is hoping justice is served in court.
The 28-year-old, who is identified as Stephen Sowe, is charged with attempted kidnapping, harassment, and endangering the welfare of a child.