Video of Girl, 16, Snatched in Front of Mom Is Chilling Reminder NY Gun Control Disarms Wrong People
UPDATE, Dec. 18, 2019: Shortly after the publication of this article, Karol Sanchez reportedly confessed to police that she set up the kidnapping because of her difficult relationship with her mother. Authorities are still determining whether she and those involved will face criminal charges, according to The New York Times.
A 16-year-old girl who was snatched off the street in front of her mother’s very eyes Monday night in New York City has thankfully been found.
The alleged kidnapping took place around 11:30 p.m., WNBC reported, as 16-year-old Karol Sanchez and her mother made their way to the Jackson Avenue train station in the Bronx after a doctor’s appointment.
It was then that a tan four-door sedan pulled up alongside the pair and two unidentified males scrambled out onto the sidewalk, yanking Sanchez into the vehicle and speeding off, law enforcement sources told WNBC.
According to New York City Police Department‘s 40th Precinct, two more unidentified males were also involved, remaining inside the vehicle for the entirety of the short scuffle that ensued.
Seeking Immediate Information in regards to a kidnapping last night in the vicinity of Eagle Ave and E 156th St. 16 year old Karol Sanchez was walking with her mother when 4 men in a beige sedan forced her into their vehicle and fled the scene. Any info PLEASE ? 1-800-577-TIPS pic.twitter.com/rgc8VWBgGv
— NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) December 17, 2019
Footage of the disturbing incident, released Tuesday on Twitter by the NYPD, shows Sanchez’s 36-year-old mother immediately jumping to her aid, scrambling to the open car door and grappling with the perpetrators before being shoved to the ground.
Left at the scene, Sanchez’s mother was unharmed when police arrived, police said.
— NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) December 17, 2019
Thankfully, Sanchez was found unharmed Tuesday around the same area where she was taken, according to The New York Times, though the motives and identities of her alleged kidnappers were not immediately clear.
Far less uncertainty remains, however, regarding the implications of New York’s incredibly restrictive gun control laws on cases such as this.
Well known by leftist anti-gun advocacy groups as one of the most heavily gun-controlled states in the nation, New York has long struggled with a crime problem — particularly in New York City, where crime “of all stripes” is up once again this year after a recent decline, the New York Daily News reported.
According to Newsday, a person must be 21 years old and pass a substantial background check in order to be cleared to purchase a handgun in the state of New York.
Furthermore, handguns require a specific license, which can cost hundreds of dollars.
And in New York City, would-be handgun owners must fill out a 17-page application just to obtain a license, according to The Times, in addition to providing other documents.
Even those who manage to secure a concealed carry license under the aforementioned state conditions — or are lucky enough to have one from a surrounding state — are in most cases prohibited from carrying or transporting their handgun in NYC.
In fact carrying a handgun in New York City without direct authorization from local authorities — even if it was legally purchased elsewhere — can result in felony charges and a minimum of 3 1/2 years behind bars, as Reason has documented.
Is it any wonder the city’s low-life thugs are emboldened to attack and kidnap people traveling in groups on the city streets?
Is it any wonder crime is on the rise in the city once again?
The great self-defense equalizer is being clawed from the hands of the American people one step at a time by politicians and bureaucrats ignorant to — or downright dismissive of — the fundamental human rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
Criminals, armed or otherwise, can act out as much as they like, all but certain law-abiding citizens and passers by are unarmed and unable to defend themselves.
And our so-called leaders are entirely apathetic to the cause of those prospective victims.
Why would they care? There are exceptions for their personal body guards written into America’s gun control legislation.
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