A group of New York citizens who tracked down and beat up an illegal alien suspected of raping a child in Queens last week are being praised by police.
Christian Geovanny Inga-Landi, an Ecuadorian national, allegedly raped a 13-year-old girl at knifepoint in a park in the borough on Thursday.
According to WNYW-TV, the girl was able to remember distinctive features about the suspect before she escaped.
She also recalled a tattoo her attacker had and helped police build a sketch.
New Yorkers, we continue to ask for your help locating this individual with the depicted tattoo who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old female.
There is a reward of up to $10,000. If you have any info, DM @NYPDTips or Call 800-577-TIPS(8477).https://t.co/GbO1NvJ9En pic.twitter.com/Demjo1BwI5
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 15, 2024
Images of that sketch circulated around the city, and police eventually found a photo of Inga-Landi.
Do you know this man? NYPD Detectives have obtained new images of the suspect in the @NYPD109Pct rape investigation if you have any information as to the suspect’s identity or location DM @NYPDTips or call CrimeStoppers at 1(800)577-TIPS(8477). https://t.co/aKeHRcn7rw
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 17, 2024
A group of what WNYW called “good samaritans” later identified Inga-Landi as a man who had recently begun to frequent a bodega in their neighborhood.
On Monday evening, they waited for him to show up at the bodega. When he did so, they roughed him up before detaining him while they waited for police to arrive.
One woman who was part of the melee told WNYW with a smile, “We just happened to see the suspect and we acted accordingly.”
Another man told the news station, “Boom, he comes, we caught him. Spot him, got him.”
One other person who detained the suspect said, “He was like, ‘Let me explain, let me explain’ – there was nothing to explain,” while another told WNYW, “I needed to do something because it’s just not right.”
Officers with the New York Police Department praised the group’s actions.
John Chell, the NYPD’s chief of patrol, told Fox News on Wednesday morning that the immigrant and alleged child sexual predator was given “street justice” before he was arrested to face charges.
“How courageous they were to help us. … The whole city said, ‘No.’ The community stepped in. They tried a little street justice, and we made the apprehension,” Chell said.
He also praised those who confronted the man for doing a public service by remaining vigilant.
Should these residents receive an award from the city?
Inga-Landi was visibly bloodied in a video taken of his apprehension and was briefly hospitalized before police took him to jail.
The illegal immigrant faces charges of rape, sex abuse, kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, robbery, unlawful imprisonment, menacing and a weapons charge.
