Brave father foils carjacking attempt and saves his child
Dramatic vision has been released of a terrifying carjacking attempt where a young child remained in the vehicle while the would-be thief tried to drive away.
The boy's father can be seen at the end of the CCTV running towards his car desperately trying to stop the ordeal.
Police say he had left his wife and two children in the car at an Aldi car pack in Manchester at about 7.40pm on Monday night.
While they were waiting for him to return, a man forced his way into the car.
The video shows the moment the man forced the wife and a 5-year-old child out before starting to drive away with the three-year-old still inside.
The father, Tahir Mehmood, has recounted the frightening ordeal to the BBC.
"At that particular moment I was more concerned about my three-year-old son's life rather than the car," Mr Mehmood said.
"I saw someone sitting [in] the driving seat of my car. That was the time when I felt something is really, really going wrong, you know, and I ran towards the car."
"My three-year-old was still in the car at that particular moment. When that guy saw me running towards the car he actually started reversing the car with the doors open."
The video captures the moment Mr Mehmood spots his car backing out of the parking spot, immediately sprinting towards it and leaping into it.
Police in Manchester say he jumped into the passenger side and struggled with the would-be carjacker.
Detective Sergeant Shagufta Khan of GMP’s North Manchester division, said: “Fortunately, the family escaped the ordeal without injury and have been extremely courageous by helping us with the investigation.
“This terrifying sequence of events only lasted for a few moments but the psychological implications this could have on the whole family could stay with them for a considerable time."
Following this the car collided with another car in the parking lot before the offender fled.
“I am urging anybody who witnessed the incident to come forward with any information. There were a lot of vehicles and people in the area at the time so the chances are that somebody has seen something to help us with the investigation,” said Detective Sergeant Shagufta Khan.
The video was uploaded to the Greater Manchester Police Facebook page.
