A good Samaritan who intervened to help stop a man's violent attack and attempted abduction of a woman in Fort Lauderdale says he was just in the right place at the right time.
The incident that was caught on camera happened shortly before 6 a.m. back on Sept. 9, as the woman was walking in the 500 block of East Las Olas toward the beach, Fort Lauderdale Police officials said.
Investigators said the man ran up behind her, grabbed and choked her, then slammed her to the ground and started to drag her.
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Construction worker Edwin Zamora said he had arrived at work early that day and was sitting in his truck nearby when he heard screaming, which made him think of hiw own wife and daughter.
Zamora said he jumped out, grabbed a piece of metal from his truck and started screaming at the suspect, who ran away.
After the suspect fled, Zamora checked on the woman.
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"She was crying and she had bruises on her shoulder and arm," Zamora said. "She was a little bit in shock after she stopped crying."
Zamora said he's not a hero, just a human being.
"She said 'thank you, you saved my life.' [I said] 'no, I didn’t save your life. I was in the right place at the right moment,'" Zamora said.
Police on Thursday released surveillance footage of the suspect, who they described as a tall man in his 30s with short hair who was shirtless at the time of the incident.
Officials said they've exhausted all available investigative leads and are asking for the public's help in identifying the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 954-828-6559.
