A 7-year-old was abducted while his father abandoned him, an incident all caught on a nearby surveillance camera. The kidnapping happened at gunpoint in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, last Friday, July 11.
The child, Jamal White, was riding his bike outside his home with his father, Jamal White Sr., around 7 p.m. when a white Jeep first drove by them, only to make a U-turn and pull into their driveway. In the unsettling footage, two men jump out of the vehicle and run toward the pair. One man with a gun runs toward the father, and the other goes after the boy.
Upon seeing the men, Jamal Sr. rushes into the house, slamming the door behind him and leaving his son outside. Meanwhile, Jamal Jr., wearing a white sweater and sweatpants, dismounts his bike and tries to follow, but one of the men grabs him and forces him into the Jeep. The scene ends with screams and chaos as the car speeds off with the boy. Moments later, the father returns outside and angrily slams his car’s trunk.
Online, the father’s reaction has caused backlash. Viewers criticised him for abandoning his son in a life-threatening situation. In response, he defended himself, stating he initially thought it was a robbery. “I ran im thinking they tryna rob me not take my damn baby,” he posted on Facebook.
Nearly five hours after the kidnapping, an Amber Alert was issued and a search was launched. After nearly 24 hours, the intense search led investigators to a house seven miles away from the family’s home. Jamal Jr. was found inside with a 25-year-old man, who was taken into custody.
Following the rescue, Jamal’s father took to social media to share the news and expressed that his son survived because of how he taught him. “God had us the whole time obviously I did right my baby safe!”
During the search, the child’s uncle, Jamel K. White, reportedly fired at two of the searchers in a panic. He now faces two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a weapon.
Along with the 25-year-old suspect, another 27-year-old suspect, who was found at the location where the child was taken, was also arrested. Authorities have not released their names, and no motive for the kidnapping has been confirmed.
