Florida 6-year-old fights off kidnapper by biting him

A Florida 6-year-old fought off her purported kidnappers by biting the man that was trying to take her away on Thursday in Miami, authorities said. 

The gild, identified as Ah’lyric, was playing in the courtyard of her apartment complex in the 6500 block of Northeast 2nd Avenue with her siblings at around 8 p.m. Suddenly, the kids noticed a white Range Rover park near the apartment. 

The kids all went inside the complex, except for Ah’lyric, who stayed on the stairway. A man approached her and grabbed her by the arm, the Miami Police Department said in a news release. 

The girl began fighting back and pulling away to escape his grip. However, the kidnapper reacted by picking her up and carrying her away. That is when Ah’lyric bit him.

"I bit him," the girl told NBC South Florida, adding that her mom had taught her how to defend herself. 

The bite caused the man to drop her. He then slapped her and ran away from the apartment complex, according to the arrest documents shared by the police. After being freed from her kidnapper, Ah’lyric ran to her aunt to tell her what had just happened. 

Police reviewed surveillance footage from the apartment complex to try to identify the purported kidnapper. The video shows the man arriving in the car and approaching the stairway. A few moments later, he is seen running away from the scene. 

Police were able to track the SUV the suspect arrived in through its license plate. The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Leonardo Venegas. He was found by police two days after the incident and taken into custody. Venegas was charged with kidnapping and child abuse with no great bodily harm, according to Miami-Dade jail records.

"This is a case that has us extremely worried, concerned, something that's not very common," Miami Police Capt. Freddie Cruz said. "Luckily we were able to apprehend this individual."

Detectives said there might be other victims and have asked anyone with any information to come forward.