Man arrested for attempted kidnapping of 5-year-old in Queens attacks officer in custody, police say

RICHMOND HILL, Queens – A suspect who was arrested in connection with an attempted kidnapping of a 5-year-old boy has also been charged with assaulting an officer, police say.

Officials say James McGonagle, 24, punched an NYPD officer in the face as the officer attempted to take his fingerprints. The officer bled in his face.

They say the incident happened while he was in custody at Brookdale Hospital.

McGonagle was arrested on Friday in connection with the attempted kidnapping of a 5-year-old boy in Queens on Thursday.

Police initially charged him with attempted kidnapping, reckless endangerment and acting in a manner harmful to a child.

Video released Friday shows a 5-year-old walking with his mother around 8 p.m. on Hillside Avenue in Richmond Hill when McGonagle exited a red vehicle, picked up the boy and took him into the car while the another suspect was seated inside. the front passenger seat.

WATCH | Raw video of the incident:

The boy’s mother, Dolores Diaz Lopez, saw this happen, reached out through the open front window of the car and pulled her son away from the man and out of the car.

According to sources, officers were at Brookdale Hospital on an unrelated matter when they recognized the suspect in the video.

They say the suspect was in hospital seeking treatment and has been taken into custody.

Police say the suspect is undergoing a hospital assessment.

The mother spoke to Eyewitness News on Friday.

VIDEO | Watch the interview:

Diaz Lopez said she was walking with her children on her way to visit her husband at work when a man grabbed her son, Jacob.

“I said ‘oh my god my children, oh my god my boy,” said Diaz Lopez.

She said her son first sat in the backseat, but after she and her children begged them to return the boy, he got up and she was able to grab him.

The suspects drove south on Hillside Avenue, then west on Jamaica Avenue.

“I don’t know why it happened. I never saw these people,” said Diaz Lopez.

She explained in Spanish that a mother’s instinct is what made her fight and act in a different way.

“You have to do what is necessary no matter what,” he said. “The car was just parked there. I never imagined a man would get out of the car and grab my son. You should always be aware of your surroundings and not be on the phone.”

Jacob was playing video games on his phone on Friday afternoon, but Lopez says his three children are traumatized and refuse to leave the house.

“Mothers should be careful with their children,” she said. “Always hold their hand when walking with them because there are a lot of mean people and you never know who is nearby. “

Police released photos of the two suspects.

The child was not injured and the motive remains a mystery.

The vehicle is described as an older model of a brown 4-door sedan.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the New York Police helpline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

MORE NEWS: Another murder in New York City as NYPD tackles ongoing violence and gang warfare

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