Nationwide — Nijah Bullock, a 28-year-old African American mother from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, confronted her neighbor after he abducted her 8-year-old daughter, sparking a standoff with police and gunfire. Thankfully, no one was injured.
The incident happened on Tuesday in the Ogontz neighborhood on the 5900 block of North 20th Street. Bullock’s daughter, Phage, was playing in the shared backyard when the neighbor suddenly grabbed her and pulled her inside his home.
“When she got closer to the door, he snatched her, grabbed her, pulled her in, shut the door, and locked it,” Bullock told 6ABC. “All the other kids ran up and told me.”
Bullock rushed to protect her child. Armed with mace, she ran to the house and sprayed it toward the suspect. Moments later, gunfire erupted from inside.
“About a minute into me spraying the mace the gunshots went off,” she said.
Police arrived quickly and discovered the man had barricaded himself inside with his young son. Officers knocked repeatedly, but he refused to respond. After a tense standoff, authorities took the suspect into custody without anyone being harmed.
Bullock said her daughter fought hard to escape and made it clear she would do anything to protect her children.
“No matter what, I will do anything I have to do, before I let anything happen to her or her sisters,” she said. “Whatever comes my way, about the three that I birthed, I’m willing to take it all.”
The suspect remains in custody as police continue to investigate.