A terrifying video shows the moment a teenage girl was grabbed from the hallway outside her New York City home by a man who jumped from the stairwell.
Doorbell footage from the Astoria, Queens apartment complex captured the moment the grocery store employee tried to grab the 18-year-old girl as she returned home after walking the dog around 9 a.m. on January 23.
The girl’s mother, Adriana Alvarez, 35, sprinted out of the house to stop the attempted kidnapping moments later. She said a scuffle ensued on the stairs, leaving her daughter seriously bruised.
NYPD told DailyMail.com that the perpetrator, George Vassiliou, 25, of Queens, is the victim’s ex-boyfriend.
“From the fourth floor to the first floor we were tumbling and fighting,” Alvarez said CBS News.
Terrifying video shows the moment a teenage girl was grabbed from the hallway outside her New York City home by a man who jumped from the stairwell
Police say George Vassiliou, 25, of Queens, jumped out of hiding to attack his ex-girlfriend, 18, before her mother ran outside and she and the suspect fell down the stairs
The incident left mother Adriana Alvarez with several injuries, including a dislocated shoulder
Alvarez sprinted to her daughter’s aid seconds after she was snatched in the video. She told CBS that she took action after hearing “just the most horrifying scream you could possibly imagine.”
“It was just… a punch and a scream,” she told the broadcaster. “I run outside and I see her being dragged to the fourth floor by this man,” Alvarez said.
NYPD told DailyMail.com that Vassiliou “threw her down the stairs,” used pepper spray in her face and “hit her in the face several times” during the attack, which unfolded at 25 Avenue and 43rd Street in Astoria.
Video shows the teenage girl returning home with a small dog before Vassiliou out of nowhere jumps over a railing and pounces on her.
She screams as he grabs her from behind and they disappear out of sight down the stairwell.
He “dragged her, threw her down the stairs and punched her in the face several times, causing pain,” the NYPD said.
“The suspect then pulled pepper spray from his pocket and sprayed her in the face… he then threw her down the stairs where he began kicking her in the back, causing pain, bruising and a dislocated shoulder.”
“From the fourth floor to the first floor we were tumbling and fighting,” Alvarez told CBS News.
Video shows the teenage girl returning home with a small dog, before Vassiliou out of nowhere jumps over a railing and pounces on her
She screams as he grabs her from behind and they disappear out of sight down the stairwell
The teen also suffered bruises in the surprise attack at the Astoria apartment complex
Alvarez sprinted to her daughter’s aid seconds after she was snatched in the video
Alvarez also said the suspect had worked at a local supermarket with his daughter until the relationship became “weird.”
“He started following her and hiding behind cars,” Alvarez said.
Vassiliou is being held at West Facility, East Elmhurst, a prison for “inmates with contagious diseases,” on a $50,000 bond, according to the NYC Department of Correction.
The family’s neighbor, Gus Bougas, also ran to help after hearing the commotion. He grabbed Vassiliou, who ran away before lying in wait for the mother and daughter across the street.
“We were touching each other and pushing each other,” Bougas told CBS. ‘I put my foot in front, threw him to the ground and landed on top of him. I tried to restrain him until the police came.”
Alvarez praised Bougas as their “hero.” “God forbid if it wasn’t for him he would have run away again.”