Video Shows 10-Year-Old Boy Smartly Escaping A Woman Who Was Following Him Home

A quick-thinking 10-year-old boy escaped a woman who was following him home from school by rushing into a local shop and asking the cashier to pretend to be his mother.  

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Surveillance footage from the possible kidnapping attempt shows a woman walking alongside the fourth grader, Sammy Green, on the sidewalk, just moments before he escaped into Dani Bee Funk — his favorite neighborhood store in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

The stranger continued to lurk outside as the fourth grader headed to the counter and whispered something to the 17-year-old cashier, Hannah Daniels. Sammy asked Daniels to 'act like you're my mom' because 'this lady is following me.'

Courtesy of Dani Bee Funk

The teenage cashier acted quickly and put herself between Sammy and the woman, who was still holding the door open. Daniels then calmly walked over, pulled the door closed, and locked it. That was when the woman finally left. 

Speaking about the terrifying incident, Sammy's father shared how he was shaken to his core after seeing the footage of his son being followed. 

'When we were watching that video, I cried every time I saw it,' he said. 

Courtesy the Green family

"To see my child looking for help because he was afraid basically for his life, that cuts you deep."

On Friday afternoon, Sammy was walking home from school down High Street when he started being followed by a stranger, a woman who offered to buy him food and made him feel uncomfortable.

"She was like, 'I'm going to Wawa, are you going there? What are you getting from Wawa? Where's your family at?'" Sammy recalled.

Courtesy the Green family

Sammy had never seen the woman before that day, but she claimed she knew his family and told him that he was supposed to come with her. When he saw the corner store near his house, he acted quickly and walked inside.

"I was scared and shaking, so I was thinking something really fast," Sammy said.

Despite his fear, he said he remembered what his dad had taught him: "If you're getting followed, don't trust them. Just act casual and go by any adult."

Sam Green, Sammy's dad, said he's thankful to Daniels and his son for how they handled the situation. "I'm just so proud of my son for doing what he did."

The Pottstown Police Department say they located the woman over the weekend. She's now getting help for mental health issues. Sammy's family said they don't plan on pressing charges against the woman, because of her mental illness.

Pottstown Police Department

Green said he wants other families to see the video footage and talk to their children and make a plan for what to do if approached by a stranger.

"Think of every scenario and make sure that children know and also practice it," he said. "Practice your situations and scenarios just like fire drills."