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John Velasquez, Bronx School Janitor, Saves 6-Year-Old From Being Kidnapped (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: Updated: 05/15/2012 3:08 pm

John Velasquez

John Velasquez, a janitor at PS 160 in New York's Bronx borough, may have saved a 6-year-old boy's life after a stranger claiming to be his uncle tried to collect the child from outside the school, NBC New York reports.

As if he had a sixth sense, Velasquez asked the boy if he knew the man. After the child said no, Velasquez grabbed the boy by his hand and took him to a security office.

Velasquez told the station that the man's eyes were "bulging," and that he was "definitely on something."

"I believe he had really bad intentions," he told NBC New York.

While the 6-year-old usually walks to school alone in the morning, his mother accompanied him on Monday to thank Velasquez.

"She thanked me, she did thank me," he told NBC New York. "I just told her, 'Listen, I would have done it for any child, but you gotta keep an eye on your kids.'"

FOX New York reports that police describe the man as being in his 50s, around 6'2", with a black and white beard.

Police also released a sketch of the suspect, and urge anyone who recognizes him to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers.

CBS New York reports that authorities want to find the would-be-kidnapper before another child is put in danger.

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John Velasquez, a janitor at PS 160 in New York's Bronx borough, may have saved a 6-year-old boy's life after a stranger claiming to be his uncle tried to collect the child from outside the school, NB...
John Velasquez, a janitor at PS 160 in New York's Bronx borough, may have saved a 6-year-old boy's life after a stranger claiming to be his uncle tried to collect the child from outside the school, NB...
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Janitor foils kidnapping

 
 
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SLuG1972
still bit@hy
09:46 AM on 05/23/2012
as for how often stuff like this happens, i live in a middle class neighborhood, not too bad, and i get alert calls from our elementary school about every other week of some freak trying to pick up one of the kids right by the school, within a block....i feel i can never be too protective, when not only my childs safety, but even possibly their lives could be jeopardized....they can feel like "big kids" later , after i make sure they grow up safe, unmolested, and at home. they were lucky mr. velasquez was there.
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SLuG1972
still bit@hy
09:17 AM on 05/23/2012
Way to go Mr. Velasquez!!!!!!! How awesome . I hope your employers appreciate what a concerned, caring, and involved employee you are. That is sn act of heroism to me....and to the parents too,I'm sure......I hope you receive the appreciation such an act deserves.
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mllea14
06:21 PM on 05/21/2012
Thank goodness for Mr. Velasquez but parents need to walk their 6 year old to and from school, no matter how close they might live. Tragedy was avoided but has to be prevented.
04:56 PM on 05/21/2012
Give the child and the parents a BREAK. Maybe the child and his mom didn't live that far from the school and either have to have a ride or walk to school. As for the ride thing maybe the mother didn't have a car, because OBVIOUSLY it said that she walked with him that morning to thank the man. Instead of blaming the parent for letting her child walk alone y'all should be happy that the boy life was SAVED.
05:42 PM on 05/19/2012
He had the correct response. He did nothing special... he did what everyone should do.
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ivanivonovich
Some call it being alone, I call it solitude.
05:31 PM on 05/21/2012
Someone in the right place / right time, that's what makes the difference between the living and the dead. No, it wasn't anything special, he did what all persons "should" do. But, he did do this, and that is the real difference. Too many would have stood by, and refused to get involved.
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SLuG1972
still bit@hy
09:22 AM on 05/23/2012
Yep, youre right, and THAT makes all the difference...he DID step up. Too many mind their own business or just don't want to get involved...I say. YAY
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papapj
..light as a feather..
07:25 PM on 05/18/2012
Way to go, John!
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krayoncolorz
08:46 AM on 05/18/2012
Yay for the janitor but seriously a 6 year old walks to school by himself? I think that is a bit too young imho.
05:42 PM on 05/19/2012
Children are almost never taken by strangers. It is nearly always family or friends.
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ivanivonovich
Some call it being alone, I call it solitude.
05:39 PM on 05/21/2012
That is true, but remember even "almost" means that it does happen. As for being only 6 years old and walking to school alone, maybe the child and his mother thought he was "big" enough to do so. Sometimes they are, when the distance is short. Other times even a 12 year old is not cautious enough to be allowed to do so. You remember the girl in California who was held for about 20 years, after being kidnapped at the age of 12, on her way to or from school ?And the perpetrator was not known to them either.
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TrinidaddeGuerreros
The curse that flew right by you
07:49 PM on 05/17/2012
This story should be on all the news. It's fantastic when a real hero steps up, and Mr. Velasquez is definitely a hero. I also think it was wonderful that he told the mom "you have to keep an eye on your kids." Maybe she'll heed his very wise advice.
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04:29 PM on 05/17/2012
Well done sir; well done!
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carmenalex
STR8 AGAINST H8
02:23 PM on 05/17/2012
Id rather cut my arm off than let my kid walk anywhere alone at that age. Who let's a first grader walk alone to or from school!
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BaldIsBeautiful
Better a bald head than no head at all
01:47 AM on 05/18/2012
I was thinking the same exact thing!
04:49 PM on 05/21/2012
Maybe he lives CLOSE to the school and it is the MORNING time. Just be glad that he's alive. Why so negative
05:23 AM on 05/17/2012
If you drink and I ever have the good fortune to meet you Mr. John Velasquez then drinks are on me for the night. You are definitely one of the good and decent people out there, keep up the good work and good spirit.
02:06 AM on 05/17/2012
God bless you,John Velasquez. You can spend the rest of your life with a smile on your face,knowing that you saved a little boy's life.
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sandradel7509
GOP=The party of lies.
10:03 PM on 05/16/2012
Good thing the janitor was there at the time. My question is what is a 6 year old child doing walking alone?
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sunnubian
11:33 PM on 05/16/2012
Thank you! The child's parents should be order to take parenting classes and should be court ordered to not let their 6-year old walk to school by himself. I really don't know why Child Protective Services had not been called already on ANY parents that let a 6-year old walk anywhere by himself.
02:28 AM on 05/17/2012
school could have been two houses down
that said, I agree with you
Probably CPS is involved and lame HP once again left out this sailiant detail as they often do either to stimulate discussion manipulatively or just that they are very lame. I often wonder which it is.
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Mizz Givens
This is my micro bio.
03:53 PM on 05/17/2012
Perhaps the parent works in the morning and is unable to walk her child to school. And by the way, where I live, if a student lives less than a mile from the school, he or she must walk or get a ride, no matter how old that student is.
11:33 PM on 05/16/2012
exactly. My son is 7 but we walks halfway with his 2 older brothers. But we only let walk halfway. So they can feel independent
09:22 PM on 05/16/2012
Children being abducted by strangers are a reality. In my opinion, There is only one way to cure such a predator of this vile act against society.
10:38 AM on 05/18/2012
Where do you live that these kidnappings are happening at such an alarming rate? You'd think I would know (where you live) since it should be on the news ALL THE TIME....
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ivanivonovich
Some call it being alone, I call it solitude.
05:57 PM on 05/21/2012
What most persons do not realize is that based on the numbers, this type of situation doesn't occur often. The fact that it gets reported so much, you can blame on the sensationalism of the story. It's "exciting' to read about some poor child, who either escapes danger or is actually abducted. As long as it isn't your own.
As for a 6 year old child walking to school, that happens all the time. I used to drop Kindergärtners off at their homes all the time, even when I knew that there were no others persons at the home. As long as they could get into their house, I had to leave them there. I even got in trouble when I made a young girl go back to the school, because she couldn't get into her house. The parents were livid. It was their opinion that their child could wait for them to come home, shortly. There after the child was given a key to get in, but she was still home alone for what ever time it took for one of her parents to arrive. Different than being allowed to walk to school ? Same age bracket. And they still can be the victim of a deranged person.
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chykim1
sexy geek
03:28 PM on 05/16/2012
thank god he was there..i have no doubt he saved that kids life
.6yrs old is too young for any kid to be walking to/from school alone.
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ThatIsJustGreat
03:32 PM on 05/16/2012
I was thinking the same thing. In this day and age, 6 years old is too young to let any kid walk to/from school alone. Even though I did it in the 1959/60 to Kindergarten.
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chykim1
sexy geek
03:34 PM on 05/16/2012
i did as well..but its a different time.
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08:11 PM on 05/16/2012
But you were probably not by yourself. I did it too in the mid 80s aged 7 but then I live in the countryside .
04:52 PM on 05/21/2012
Depending on how far you stay from the school it's NOT.