Georgia boy, 1, snatched from stroller at gunpoint reunited with his mother; suspects in custody

CHAMBLEE, Ga. — A 1-year-old boy is safe at home and two suspects are in police custody following a brazen daylight kidnapping at gunpoint, Georgia authorities confirmed.

According to a news release from the Chamblee Police Department, Mateo Mantufar-Barrera was being pushed in his stroller by his mother Saturday afternoon near their Chamblee, Georgia, apartment when an Acura SUV pulled up next to them.

A man then got out of the vehicle, approached Mateo’s mother, pointed a gun at her hip and looked inside the stroller. When the assailant tried to grab Mateo, the mother was able to gain control of the gun and attempted to shoot the man, but the gun failed to fire, the release stated.

According to police, a second suspect then exited the vehicle, grabbed Mateo and got back into the SUV, but not before the mother was able to grab a piece of the first suspect’s shorts and one of his shoes.

Both suspects were apprehended several hours later in Carrollton, Georgia, about 60 miles from Chamblee, CNN reported.

WSB-TV identified the suspects as Maynor Dario Valera Zuniga and Kristin Nicole Valera Zuniga, but no motive in the kidnapping has been released. The pair face kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery charges, according to DeKalb County jail records.

Cox Media Group