After stepping in to stop the attempted abduction of a teenager in Londonderry, a nine-year-old boy was hailed a hero, saying he “just did what he felt was right.” Tiernan McCready, a student at Long Tower Primary School, was walking home on the Foyle Road through the Bogside on Wednesday night when he saw three men grabbing an 18-year-old girl and attempting to force her into a van.
The schoolboy admitted that he was terrified, but that he couldn’t have lived with himself if he had remained silent. “I was at the youth club in Bogside last week,” he said. And on my way home I saw three men in a white van grabbing a girl by the arms and the legs and trying to pull her into the van. I was scared when I saw it but I just couldn’t have stood there and done nothing so I tried to distract them so she could get away to safety.”
“I shouted over at them that I had a phone and if they didn’t let her go I was phoning the police. I think that frightened them a bit. They let her go and she was able to run. I led her to the steps and we both ran up them towards Bishop Street to get away,” the brave boy said. “I fell on the steps and cut my finger on glass, but we ran on.”
When they reached the top, they went to their house and he told the girl to run back to their houses. He said he would go to his own house and tell his mom about the incident.
Tiernan expressed his joy at the fact that the young girl is now safe .”I am pretty happy,” he said. “It’s kind of mind-blowing. I am just happy that the young girl is just safe now. I was scared at the time that it happened, but I knew it was the right thing that I had to do. I couldn’t just sit there and watch someone get kidnapped.”
Ciara, Tiernan’s mother, said that she was very proud of her little hero. She said that it was proof that the little boy had a big heart. Tiernan was presented with the PSNI Badge of Honor and a box of Maltesers by grateful police officers, who praised him and presented him with the PSNI Badge of Honor and a box of Maltesers as a token of their gratitude.
In a post, the PSNI Foylen said that most adults would be paralyzed in shock and confusion or fear and it will be too late when they act. The young boy reacted instantly and because of that, he was able to save a person from a potentially serious and harrowing crime.
The way that Tiernan acted was most probably because he was taught well by his parents. The Bible says to teach a child in the way that he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. So, teaching children to care for others has a great effect on them. Continuously pray for your children even as they grow old so that the guidance of the Lord will be with them.