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A New York City mom spent days recovering in a hospital bed after shocking video shows she chased a suspected kidnapper down multiple flights of stairs when he grabbed her teen daughter from the family’s doorstep in January.
The surveillance clip shows a masked man jumping over a railing and grabbing the 18-year-old from behind as she approached her own apartment. A moment later, her panicked mother sprinted out in pursuit.
“Get the f— out of here!” Adriana Alvarez shouted after the suspect, slipping on the tile floor in the hallway before vanishing from view down the staircase.
The victim’s family says suspect George Vassiliou met her while they worked together at a nearby grocery store in Astoria, New York. (Adriana Alvarez)
“My first instinct was to pull her and grab her back,” she told the outlet. “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.”
Another neighbor, Gus Bougas, heard the altercation, came outside and tackled the suspect, identified as 25-year-old George Vassiliou. He held him until the police arrived.
A still image from Ring doorbell video shows the suspect dragging a teen away from her own front door before they vanish down the staircase. (Adriana Alvarez)
Vassiliou worked with the victim at a nearby grocery store before management fired him for allegedly stalking the girl. According to Alvarez, she called the police on Vassiliou twice before and sought a restraining order for her daughter due to creepy behavior.
Jail records list Vassiliou as 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing around 230 pounds.
The Ring video shows a diminutive victim snatched up in the grip of a much larger male before he carries her out of view.
A still image from Ring doorbell video shows the suspect dragging a teen away from her own front door before they vanish down the staircase. (Adriana Alvarez)
Vassiliou was being held on $50,000 bond for charges that include second-degree attempted kidnapping, criminal possession of a weapon, assault, burglary and more, city jail records show.
He is due back in court on April 3.
Fox News’ Ashley Papa and Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
