Video captures moment Ohio kidnapping suspect tries to stab police officer with pen
By: An Ohio kidnapping suspect tried to stab a police officer with a pen before he was quickly subdued, footage of the jailhouse attack revealed on Thursday.
Reid Duran, 35, had agreed to be questioned on Monday after police encountered him at St. Brigid Catholic School in Xenia, about 15 miles east of downtown Dayton, and he was taken to an interview room at the Xenia Justice Center, officials said.
Duran, seen in the video wearing a blue t-shirt and shorts, was not handcuffed since he was there voluntarily. The video shows him nonchalantly grabbing a pen off a desk with his left hand, then suddenly lunging at the officer, later identified as Nicholas Peters.
Peters blocks the stabbing attempt, then throws Duran to the ground and radioes for help before jumping on the prisoner to handcuff him, the video shows.
"Put your hands behind your back now," Peters commanded during a brief struggle. "Are you f---ing kidding me right now? Put your hands behind your f---ing back right now!"
Duran had been at St. Brigid's open house and lied about being the parent a kindergartener, officials said, before suspicious school staff called police.
The suspect allegedly told police later he was attempting to kidnap a 5-year-old girl.
"Duran did make statements to the investigating detective claiming that he intended to give his victim candy laced with tranquilizers, but there is no verification that the candy found on him at the time of his interaction with the Xenia Police officers had any sort of drug on it," according to a police statement.
"Duran did not give candy to the victim or any child at the school event. During the time period that Duran was at St. Brigid School, he was never alone with the victim, and there were people in the kindergarten classroom, and the rest of the building."
Duran was charged with attempted kidnapping, felonious assault and escape, police said.
His bail hearing is set for Monday morning.
The man's defense attorney could not be reached for comment on Friday.
The suspect's brother and mother both told NBC News on Friday that Duran has been suffering from schizophrenia for years and has never shown any predilection for violence.
"It's more self-harm, he'll stop eating, get really paranoid and go into a corner. He's very gentle and considerate to others," said 37-year-old Roy Duran, adding that his family is now struggling to raise money for his brother's legal defense. "The harm is always insular and against himself."
The family said Reid Duran does not have any prior arrests but has been subjected to a mental health commitment.
"That's not like him," mother Melissa King, 58, said of the video showing her son lunging the officer. "I think he began to feel scared and he's cornered. I just know he's not in his right mind. He needs psychiatric help."