After finishing her work at Alexandria Avenue Elementary School in Los Angeles, Adrienne Young was heading home when she heard the terrified screams of a young girl. The cries froze her in her tracks.
The girl screamed, “Please don’t let her take me! I don’t know her. She’s not my mom!”
Adrienne looked up and saw a woman attempting to drag an 8-year-old girl away.
Instinctively, Adrienne sprang into action.
“I went into mommy mode,” she said. “I couldn’t just stand by and let this little girl be taken.”
The kidnapper, a much larger and older woman, presented a daunting challenge for Adrienne, who stands only 4 feet 8 inches tall. Yet she didn’t hesitate for a moment. She quickly instructed the frightened girl to cling tightly to her.
“I told her to grab me as hard as she could,” Adrienne recounted. “When the woman started attacking me, I knew I had to defend myself to protect this child.”
Realizing Adrienne wasn’t backing down, the would-be kidnapper finally released the girl, who then managed to escape. Authorities later apprehended the suspect, 50-year-old Maria Ramirez, charging her with felony kidnapping.
Thanks to Adrienne’s bravery, the little girl was safely reunited with her family, unharmed.
Adrienne’s heroic act did not go unnoticed. At a public event, Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell honored her, saying, “Sometimes superheroes come in small packages. Because of her vigilance, training, and compassion for children, she prevented what could have been a devastating tragedy.”
The girl’s mother, Sharon Arellano, expressed her endless gratitude for Adrienne’s courage and selflessness.
“Without her, I don’t know where my daughter would be right now,” Sharon said.
Now, Sharon and Adrienne are advocating for stricter safety measures at the school to ensure incidents like this never happen again.