The grandmother who saw her granddaughter get snatched off by a ‘deranged’ homeless man off a sidewalk in the Bronx has sought medical treatment after being left traumatized.
65-year-old Gabriela Derevjanik was walking her three grandkids when 27-year-old Santiago Salcedo grabbed 3-year-old Lilianna Repka and attempted to take her away.
Even though the homeless man’s attempt was not successful, the family is still dealing with the trauma of the abduction.
Speaking to the Daily News, Gabriela’s husband Jan Derevjanik said: “I’ve just come from the doctor with my wife. She’s shaken by the whole thing.
“She can’t speak about it. Who knows what would have happened if he’d taken our grandchild?
“I can’t stand to look at it. This guy is not supposed to be on the street. He should be in jail or in a psychiatric hospital. If I had been there, he would have been killed.”
According to reports, Salcedo attempted to abduct the girl by wrapping her in a blanket and trying to run away with her.
Good Samaritans ran after him until he dropped the child and ran off. Police later found him sleeping in a doorway and arrested him.
The mother of the child said she does not want Salcedo to go to jail because he is “not mentally OK.”
In an interview with ABC7NY, the mother said she wanted Salcedo “to get help. I don’t want him to go to jail because he’s not mentally OK.”
She also told CBS News how her mother chased the man. “She saw him coming closer and she thought that he would want to ask for money, so that’s why she wasn’t fully aware of what can happen.
“The kids are OK. Thank god they’re still too young to fully understand or grasp what happened.”
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!