Washington DC

Man Caught on Video Attempting to Kidnap Girl, Nanny on DC Bus

“I want the suspect to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the girl's mother said. 

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A mother said her daughter is doing fine and is back to normal life after a man was caught on video attempting to kidnap the girl as she was with her nanny on a D.C. bus.

Authorities said cell phone video from 8:20 a.m. on Friday captured the suspect, 38-year-old Matthew Jones, boarding a Metro bus on the 1800 block of Columbia Road near Adams Morgan.

The man on the video yells at a 5-year-old girl and her nanny, who News4 is choosing not to identify. He claims the little girl is his daughter -- which the child’s mother has denied -- and tries to grab her a few times. 

Bus riders step in, protecting her and her nanny. Passengers manage to take the man off the bus and hold him down while the driver calls police.

Officers made the arrest, charging Jones with kidnapping and simple assault.

“I’m grateful that she’s back and it’s been surreal. My daughter is a brave girl. When I called her, she says she is fine and brave,” the mother of the 5-year-old said. 

She thanked police for making an arrest, and is also grateful to the people on the bus and the driver. 

“I want the suspect to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” the mother said. 

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