Witnesses describe attempted abduction on Palm Beach Gardens playground

By Tara Jakeway

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    PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida (WPBF) — “I was scared. I’ve seen it on YouTube and stuff but I’ve never actually seen it happen,” Ryan Gural said, describing what unfolded between him and best friend Noah Mirto Sunday around 7 p.m. while they played at the field inside their San Merano development.

“Half of us were over there playing wiffle ball, and three or four kids were in the park and he went in there,” Gural said.

That “he” according to Palm Beach Gardens police was 37-year-old Joseph Gibson who allegedly grabbed a 4-year-old boy with both hands and tried to leave with him.

“His sibling, his sister tried to, like, help him,” Gural said of the boy’s 8-year-old sister, who bravely confronted the man and then screamed for help. That’s when, according to a police report, “he did not let go of her brother and hit her in the face with an open palm.”

John Sheetz lives across from the park.

“My family were over there having dinner on the patio watching the kids play wiffle ball, we heard some commotion here and we ran over. Then we had the guy trapped,” Sheetz said on Monday.

Video below: Man charged with false imprisonment after trying to take 4-year-old from Palm Beach Gardens play area

A group of parents banded together to keep Gibson from getting away.

“Then he charged one of my neighbors, who subdued him,” Sheetz said, with one punch, that neighbor knocked Gibson to the ground

Suspect sought in attempted abduction of teen “He’s a hero. In my book, he did the right thing,” Sheetz said.

Gural agreed, saying, “He’s a hero.”

Mirto said his community did what they do best.

“They’re our friends, so we stick up for each other,” he said.

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