What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a hero? Some people may think about a person that flies around the city and fights crime but that is more of a superhero rather than an everyday hero.
Of course, we have people who put themselves in the line of fire, so to speak and they may become heroes on a daily basis. When you really stop to think about it, however, there are also some heroes that become heroes just because they have the opportunity.
That is what happened at a grocery store in New Mexico. It seems as if somebody was there trying to kidnap some little kids but there was a young man who was also nearby and it was his turn to become a hero.
As you can imagine, the mother was quite panicked over the situation. She was there in the small grocery store with her three children waiting for an Uber.
Suddenly, a suspicious man was staring at her and her children. It wasn’t long before he came over and grabbed one of the kids by the arms and demanded that she give the other children to him.
Her mother’s instincts kicked in and she started screaming as the man pushed them out of the gas station store. He was chasing after them and bystanders were trying to help the woman.
One of the people in the area pulled the doors closed so the suspect couldn’t get in. After forcing his way in, he overpowered the stranger, who went outside of the store and pushed the door closed so he couldn’t get back out again.
That is when a young man by the name of Canaan Bower showed up. He was a young student-athlete and he heard the mother screaming and came over to see what was going on. Suddenly, he knew that help was needed.
Bower grabbed the man and his wrestling training kicked in. He took the suspect down to the floor and pinned him.
Although he didn’t hesitate to act, he was a little concerned that the man might have a knife or gun on him. It didn’t stop him from helping and it wasn’t long before the cops showed up and arrested the man on the spot.
Even though everything only took about five minutes, it seemed to be one of the longest five minutes of any of their lives. The suspect was charged with kidnapping, four counts of battery, two counts of assault, and two counts of child abuse.
The young man was called a hero but he was only happy to give back what he could and helped the family to ensure that they were safe. In his words, “When someone needs help you should always help them … always be the one to do something about it”