Two women in their twenties bravely escaped a violent kidnapping attempt at the Galaxy Coney Island on Detroit's west side, WXYZ Detroit reports.
Shortly after 1:00 a.m. on New Years Day, the women were approached by two older men inside the restaurant while celebrating.
When the women declined their advances, the two men, who were reportedly intoxicated, became upset and retaliated. One man grabbed one of the victims by her hair and began dragging her outside, attempting to put her into a white van. The other assailant hit the second woman in the head with a bottle, says the Detroit Free Press.
Both women fought back and were able to break free with one escaping on foot and the other successfully making it to her car. When the woman circled back around in her car to look for her friend, the men opened fire and shot her vehicle while injuring her leg in the process. Even having been physically assaulted and then shot, the woman managed to drive to a nearby gas station to get help.
“I’m just glad my sister ain't lose her life, because she could have,” said the sister of the 22-year-old woman who was shot in her leg while attempting to flee.
The latest abduction attempt adds to a growing list of kidnapping and sex trafficking stories in which women narrowly escape or become victims. Black women are 7% of the American population but are 10% of all reported missing persons cases, according to The Black and Missing Foundation.
In November of 2019, 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard’s body was found off a rural Alabama road after a nationwide search following her kidnapping. Ibraheem Yazeed was later arrested in Florida for the college student’s murder.
In March, Jassy Correia was last seen celebrating her birthday at a Boston nightclub. Surveillance video showed Louis Coleman carrying Correia’s limp body into his condominium. A week later, her remains were discovered in Coleman’s trunk during a traffic stop in Delaware.
The first of this year, a concerned citizen foiled a kidnapping attempt while watching a man abduct a woman at knifepoint.
The woman was seen bleeding from the head and screaming, "Help, he's going to kill me, " according to ABC News.
The witness called police while tailing the white van and providing blow-by-blow of its location. Police arrested the suspect after a 35-minute standoff.
The rash of potential kidnappers has also dipped into the bizarre.
Houston native Jeanette Mitchell went viral for sharing the aftermath of what she believed was her own kidnapping attempt to Facebook Live. Mitchell booked a Lyft to take her to work after discovering her car wouldn’t start. The Lyft arrived as requested, but Mitchell noticed the driver wasn’t taking the suggested GPS routes nor was the driver answering her questions.
Eventually, the driver took her to an abandoned warehouse where another man appeared and began to unlock a gate. Mitchell fled the car on foot. Though people were skeptical of her story, Mitchell provided details to police and stood by her account.
“I have better things to do than create this story for a viral video. I have a family and a job. I am asthmatic. Why would I run in 30-degree weather to make this up?” Mitchell said according to Fox 10.
Relatives of the two Detroit victims ask that anyone with leads come forward.
"We gotta stick together. We gotta get these people off the streets."
Detroit Police are encouraging anyone information to contact detectives at the 10th Precinct by calling 313-596-1025.
