COBB COUNTY, Ga. — New video shows the moment police say a man tried to kidnap a stranger’s child at a metro Atlanta gas station.
It shows the suspect following the child around a car as the child’s mother stands between them.
It happened last week at the Shell on Delk Road in Marietta, Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell learned.
All she had in the moment was the gas pump to protect her child while a stranger followed him around the car.
“The actions of the mother and everyone on the scene, their ability to remain calm under pressure and push him away, get him away from the children, get a hold of us so that we can get to the area allowed us to hold this individual accountable,” said Public Information Officer Charles McPhilamy, Marietta Police Department.
The suspect, Jerahn Tucker, is now in jail on three charges, including attempted kidnapping.
Security footage obtained exclusively by Channel 2 shows the frightening moments for the mother as the man appears to go after her child.
At one point, he opens the back door where her second child was seated.
It happened just after midnight at the shell gas station.
The man can be seen approaching the family’s car. He walks off but returns.
He then walks closer to the mother and notices a child jump over to the driver seat and out of the car.
His attention now appears to be on the child.
The mother uses a gas pump as a weapon giving her child time to safely get back into the car. Two witnesses jump in to help.
Cobb County police helped Marietta PD quickly track Tucker down.
“The million-dollar question everyone watching is going to ask: Why did this happen? Why did this occur? And we don’t know those answers,”
Tucker wasn’t wearing shoes or a shirt when this happened. Police say he drove off before they caught him and found a THC vape in his car.
The gas station manager said he’s kicked Tucker off the property multiple times.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2026 Cox Media Group
