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A 13-year-old at a Miramar Shell gas station fought off a 32-year-old man who attacked and allegedly tried to kidnap them. He was later caught and arrested.<\/p>\n
Miami Herald file<\/p>\n
A 32-year-old man tried to kidnap a 13-year-old from a Broward gas station Monday, telling them \u201csexual\u201d and \u201cexplicit\u201d things as he attempted to grab them, authorities say. The child fought off the assailant and escaped; the suspect found himself in handcuffs.<\/p>\n
Michael Polanco, 32, is facing charges of kidnapping and battery, according to an arrest report. As of Wednesday, he was still in the Broward County Main Jail.<\/p>\n
Sometime before 7 p.m. Monday, Polanco was at a Miramar Shell gas station when he came up the child and asked them about scissors, the report read. He then suddenly grabbed the 13-year-old and put them in a headlock.<\/p>\n
The child was able to fight off Polanco and run to an adult who had stepped in.<\/p>\n
Authorities rushed to the scene and eventually caught Polanco. A witness told officers that he heard Polanco \u201cmake provocative sexual and explicit comments\u201d while pulling the child away.<\/p>\n
Polanco has an extensive criminal history, court records show, with past charges connected to battery, burglary and exposing himself in public.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very smart of this kid to fight and to break free<\/a> and to draw attention to the situation and make sure help is available,\u201d Miramar Police Chief Delrish Moss told CBS News Miami. \u201cOne thing here is that if they take you from one location to the next location, you don\u2019t know what dastardly things can happen, so you have to run, and you have to fight and draw attention to yourself so you will not be taken away.\u201d<\/p>\n