Hardcore Guitarist Saves Baby From Abduction Attempt, Subdues Man With Jiu-Jitsu
Former Outbreak guitarist Brian Kemsley is being hailed as a hero after stopping a baby from being abducted in New York City. Kemsley — a 33-year-old Muay Thai instructor — put the would-be kidnapper in an MMA hold, restraining him until authorities arrived.
Outbreak formed in Maine in 2002, signing to Bridge 9 and Trustkill Records before splitting up in 2011. The band released two full-length albums and five EPs, opening for legendary hardcore acts like Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front and Sick of it All.
On Nov. 9, Kemsley was sitting on a bench with his girlfriend in NYC’s Madison Square Park when he heard a woman scream. Getting up to investigate the incident, the guitarist and martial artist found a man attempting to grab a baby from the woman’s stroller.
"The man is saying things like, “How do you know this isn’t my baby? Why are you helping her? This could be my baby, you don’t know that,” Kemsley told NY Daily News.
After a number of people surrounded the area, Kemsley brought the assailant to the ground with a rear naked choke and kept him down with a seatbelt hold.
“I had to hold him down for over 15 mins before park security even came around to cuff him,” Kemsley said in a Facebook post. “You can’t rely on cops, you can’t rely on just blasting people with a gun, go train, go learn this.”
“The bar for being a hero should not be this low,” he said. “It should be a duty, a civic duty for all to do. Throughout the whole thing, it became clear that this man actually had mental issues. If I let go, who knows who what people [around us] would have done.” [via Lambgoat]
Well done to Brian Kemsley for the good deed! Watch the cameraphone footage of the incident above.
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