Video shows 'neighborhood people' take down illegal immigrant accused of raping 13-year-old at knifepoint
Police praised a group of heroic good Samaritans who captured the suspect in a horrific rape and kidnapping and held him until officers arrived.
A group of New Yorkers who recognized the suspect in a horrific rape of a 13-year-old took him down and held him until police arrived around 1 a.m. Tuesday, cellphone video shows.
Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, a 25-year-old from Ecuador, entered the country illegally in 2021 near Eagle Pass, Texas, police said.
He racked up an arrest in Texas and a handful of infractions in New York City before police say he cornered a pair of 13-year-olds in a Queens park, forced them into the woods at knifepoint, tied their wrists together with shoelaces and raped one of them. He allegedly stole their phones and told them to stay put for 20 minutes as he fled.
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A still image taken from video shows suspected child rapist Christian Inga on the ground, holding his face as a group of "neighborhood people" held him down until police arrived. (Obtained by Fox News)
With help from the victims, police put out a sketch of the suspect. Then a local resident spotted him on surveillance video, which police also released.
A group of men at a deli in nearby Corona recognized him and pounced. Then they held him until police arrived, according to authorities.
WATCH: Video shows 'neighborhood people' take down illegal immigrant accused of raping 13-year-old at knifepoint:
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Christian Inga, 25, is walked out of the NYPD 112th Precinct. Inga is charged with rape, kidnapping of a minor amongst other charges. U.S., June 18, 2024 Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
"Everybody knew who we were looking for," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. "We had tips coming in actually naming the perpetrator. They knew who he was. They saw him out on the street."
"We saw from bodycam video at least 10 neighborhood people trying to do the right thing," Kenny added.
Watch the prep walk:
Christian Inga, 25, is walked out of the NYPD 112th Precinct. Inga is charged with rape, kidnapping of a minor amongst other charges. U.S., June 18, 2024 Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
A local man named Jeffrey Flores was one of the first to spot him when he was captured, he told the New York Post.
"I seen him a few times — he comes to this store to buy stuff," he told the paper, speaking outside the deli where the takedown happened. "I waited for him. I waited the whole day to see if he would come up. He came at night.
Christian Inga, 25, is walked out of the NYPD 112th Precinct. Inga is charged with rape, kidnapping of a minor amongst other charges. U.S., June 18, 2024 Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
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Inga-Landi was treated for minor injuries after police said he tried to fight the good Samaritans, who bound his legs with a belt to keep him from running away.
"He tried to fight back," Flores, who said he had two younger sisters and a daughter on the way, added. "He tried to run for his life, but he couldn’t. He admitted to it. He was saying, ‘Alright, alright, alright. Don’t hit me, don’t hit me.’"
Attached is a photo of the migrant who was arrested for sexual assault. His clothes are ripped, is missing one of his shoes, and he is bruised up after residents subdued him and called 911. (Fox News)
The attack happened Thursday at Kissena Park, about 3 miles from where the New York Mets play at Citi Field and near the site of the 1964 World's Fair and the U.S. Open. The victim also went to school in the neighborhood.
Police described him as a male Hispanic in his 20s with braces and a tattoo of a horned animal with red eyes on his chest.
Video and photos taken of his capture show the tattoo prominently placed above his heart.
He was expected to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon on a slew of charges, including rape, kidnapping and other felonies.
A person of interested seen in a still image taken from surveillance video riding a bicycle prior to his arrest. (NYPD)
As police escorted him out of the 112 Precinct building to bring him to court, an onlooker could be heard shouting, "Piece of s---" as he walked with his head down.
NEW YORK CITY GIRL, 13, SEXUALLY ASSAULTED AT KNIFEPOINT DURING BROAD DAYLIGHT IN PARK: POLICE
The 13-year-old girl was raped at Kissena Corridor Park, Flushing Queens, New York. (Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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The migrant had several low-level prior offenses, including subway fare jumping and drinking in public. Police said he was also involved in a domestic violence incident where no charges were filed, and he had an unspecified arrest in Texas.
Police investigate the scene of a sexual assault in Kissena Corridor Park in Queens, NY on Thursday June 13, 2024. According to the NYPD, two 13-year-olds, a boy and a girl were held at knifepoint, bound and the girl, raped by an unknown male assailant who later fled the scene. (Peter Gerber)
"Enforcing minor crimes matters, even though the city council is trying to tell us no," Giacalone said. "It not only creates deterrence for future crimes, but it also creates the opportunity for the police to gather intelligence, in order to track people down who have done such heinous crimes like the one we just saw."
Police investigate the scene of a sexual assault in Kissena Corridor Park in Queens, NY on Thursday June 13, 2024. According to the NYPD, two 13-year-olds, a boy and a girl were held at knifepoint, bound and the girl, raped by an unknown male assailant who later fled the scene. (Peter Gerber)
Under prior administrations, he said, a fare jumper would be arrested, taken to the precinct and fingerprinted, which often helped police solve more serious crimes.
Fox News' Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
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