A stranger grabbed a 4-year-old boy away from his grandmother outside a Brooklyn McDonald’s and started dragging him down the sidewalk. She picked the wrong family. The boy’s mother, an off-duty NYPD officer, was steps away.
As of Saturday, September 19, police say the woman is in custody: 47-year-old Chrissy Payne of Brooklyn was arrested Friday night and charged with attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
Story Snapshot
- The attempt happened around 5 p.m. Monday, September 14, in front of a McDonald’s at 1133 Eastern Parkway near Utica Avenue in Crown Heights.
- The boy was standing with his 66-year-old grandmother when the woman pulled him away; his mother, an off-duty NYPD officer, got him back.
- The suspect ran off down Utica Avenue. Police released her photo the next day and asked the public for help.
- Payne was arrested Friday night. The child was not hurt.
Four Days On The Run
New York City Police Department officers arrested 47-year-old Chrissy Payne of Brooklyn on Friday night, four days after the attempt. Police say she tried to forcefully take the 4-year-old outside the McDonald’s on Eastern Parkway near Utica Avenue. The boy was beside his grandmother when the woman pulled him away and began dragging him along the sidewalk. Officers charged Payne with attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child.
Detectives released images of the suspect on Tuesday and asked the public for tips as the search widened. Neighbors and commuters who pass the busy corner every day shared the photos, and leads came in. By Friday night, police had located her and taken her into custody. Prosecutors will now decide how the case moves through arraignment and court.
The Confrontation Outside A Busy McDonald’s
The corner sits near the subway and a strip of shops, and at 5 p.m. on a Monday it is crowded. The boy’s grandmother, 66, stood with him outside the restaurant when the stranger grabbed him. A struggle followed. The boy’s mother, an NYPD officer who was off duty at the time, moved in and pulled her son back. The suspect bolted down Utica Avenue, leaving the family shaken but together.
The boy’s father later called his wife a hero, telling reporters she saved their son while she is pregnant. Police confirmed the child was not physically injured. Officers canvassed the block, gathered security footage, and turned the images over to the public within a day.
What The Charges Mean
Police booked the case as attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child. New York courts have upheld convictions on exactly that pairing when the evidence shows a clear effort to take a child by force, even when a family member or bystander stops it within seconds. The attempt itself is the crime; the rescue does not erase it.
Sources close to the investigation told local outlets that Payne has a history of mental health issues. That may shape how the case is handled in court, but it does not change the charges she now faces. Every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Why This One Hit A Nerve
Stranger abductions are the rarest kind of child abduction, and they draw the most attention precisely because they are the kind every parent fears: broad daylight, a crowded sidewalk, a child standing next to family. This time the family included a police officer, and the outcome was a scared but unharmed 4-year-old and a suspect in custody. For New York parents, the lesson is the one police repeat after every case like it: stay close, act fast, and call it in the moment something feels wrong.
Sources:
nypost.com, nydailynews.com, cbsnews.com, amny.com, abc7ny.com