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Amber Alert canceled: Georgia boy rescued hours after kidnap, Internet hails badass mum who snatched suspects' gun

1-year-old Mateo Alejandro Montufar-Barrera was taken from his mother at gunpoint in a Chamblee neighborhood

CHAMBLEE, GEORGIA: A man and a woman were arrested on Saturday, August 29, only hours after they had kidnapped a 1-year-old boy, Mateo Alejandro Montufar-Barrera, from his mother at gunpoint in a Chamblee neighborhood.

The toddler was kidnapped around 12.30 pm as the woman was pushing her son around in a stroller on Clairview Drive, Chamblee police revealed. The child's mother, Leslie Bamaca, told police said that a man had got out of a maroon Acura SUV and had pointed a gun at her hip before peeking into the stroller and taking her son, AJC reports.

Bamaca had tried to fight off the suspects and save her son. She managed to take off one of the suspect's shoes and also ripped a piece of fabric from his shorts. She was able to wrestle the gun away from the man and had tried to shoot him but the gun did not go off. The suspects were eventually identified as Maynor Dario Valera Zuniga and Kristin Nicole Valera Zuniga who kidnapped the child and put him in their SUV before driving towards I-85, the authorities revealed. An Amber Alert had been issued for the missing child who was found safe after five hours of being kidnapped. 

The pictures of the suspect's clothing had been released by the FBI on social media and asked anyone with information to step forward and contact them. The alleged suspects had been located in Carroll County around 5 pm after the Georgia State Patrol had spotted the vehicle and pulled them over. The two were arrested and taken into custody. Mateo was found unharmed and was reunited with his mother. Bamaca has been working with detectives from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation which is heading the case. Her sister, Jessica Bamaca spoke to a local news station and said they had no idea who the kidnappers were.

She shared, "We have no idea who they are. It's the first time we've seen them. We don't know where they came from. We don't know what their intentions were."

Many social media users have reacted to the news of the child being located with relief while also praising the mother for how fiercely she tried to protect her son. One such user shared, "This momma is badass! She took his gun, ripped off part of his shorts and got his shoe! What a fighter! So glad the baby was found safe and 2 are in custody & I’m looking forward to reading up on the rest of the story as it unfolds! Great work law enforcement!"

Another user added, "Amazing! I used to have vivid aggressive realistic daydreams about what I would do to someone if they tried to snatch my baby from me. They’ve dissipated over time but there’s a reason the term”Mama Bear” exists and that Mama Bear did so well!"

"So glad to hear that the mother got her child back. It should be a mandatory life without the possibility of parole for any and all types of crime against a child. The laws are too lenient on child kidnapping, molesters and abusers. God has a special place in hell for them," yet another commented.