VIDEO: Man snatches teen from Queens apartment, mom fights off would-be kidnapper
NEW YORK - Harrowing video shows a man jumping out of a stairwell, snatching an 18-year-old and dragging her down her building's stairs before the teen's mother intervenes, fighting off the would-be kidnapper.
"Get the **** out of here," mom Adriana Alvarez is heard screaming in Ring doorbell camera video that captured the Jan. 23 ambush inside her Astoria, Queens, apartment building.
Alvarez told FOX 5 NY's Stephanie Bertini that her daughter had returned home from walking their dogs around 9 a.m. when the man, who police later identified as George Vassiliou, lunged at the teenager.
Alvarez said she heard the blood-curdling scream from inside their fourth-floor unit, ran out to the hallway and realized her daughter was being kidnapped.
"My first instinct was to pull her and grab her back," she said. "As soon as I did that, he used pepper spray. He was pepper spraying me, and he used that time while my eyes were closed to punch me. To hurt me. To keep grabbing her and take her."
As the struggle reached the building's first floor, a neighbor heard the commotion and started beating the attacker with a stick, Alvarez said. She and her daughter ran into the neighbor's apartment for safety, but Vassiliou stopped the door from closing with his foot.
"We couldn't manage to keep it shut. He then grabbed my hair through the door, so that led us outside the building," Alvarez said.
Once outside, Alvarez banged on the neighbor's windows to get his attention, and the neighbor managed to pin Vassiliou to the ground while others called police.
Vassiliou was not a stranger to Alvarez – he worked with her daughter at the C-Town Supermarket on 34th Avenue in Astoria. They were friendly, but things started to take on a different tone.
Adriana Alvarez speaks with FOX 5 NY's Stephanie Bertini
About two weeks before the attempted kidnapping, he started following the 18-year-old woman. Alvarez called the cops on him twice and even filed a restraining order.
"We all thought, ‘Wow, this guy really likes my daughter for some reason. What's going on?' He would follow her. She would see him behind a car "
NYPD sources told The New York Post that "Vassiliou rented a car the night before the attempted kidnapping and parked it outside Alvarez’s building. Inside the car, cops recovered a bag containing rope, sleeping pills, melatonin, and tampons. A knife was also discovered in one of his pockets."
Vassiliou is now behind bars on Rikers Island. He’s facing a string of charges, including criminal possession of a weapon, assault, burglary and attempted kidnapping. He’s pleaded not guilty and will return to court on April 3.
Two months later, Alvarez is still recovering from the attack. She was hit so forcefully that the buccal nerves in her cheeks were damaged, and she has yet to regain feeling in part of her face. Other injuries included an orbital eye fracture and a dislocated elbow.
Her 18-year-old daughter's knees were hurt during the kidnapping attempt, but Alvarez is worried about the emotional scars.
"I tried my best to keep her safe from the physical pain. You don't think about the emotional effect of it. She's OK, but …" Alvarez trailed off.
According to the Post, Alvarez’s uncle started a GoFundMe campaign for the hero mom.
" I want others to be aware of their surroundings – even in your own home be aware," Alvarez said.