What started as a terrifying moment outside a Jacksonville, Florida DMV ended in an extraordinary act of bravery, thanks to a group of everyday heroes who refused to look away.

On March 12, a mother and her two small children, ages just 2 years and 6 months, were nearly kidnapped in broad daylight in the parking lot of the Department of Motor Vehicles on North Main Street. Witnesses say a man, later identified as 26-year-old Yanni Human, attempted to drive off in an SUV with the children inside, while the frantic mother clung to the vehicle, desperately trying to free them.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the suspect was driving off “against the woman’s will, dragging her and one of the children through the parking lot.”

Then, in a heart-stopping moment captured on security footage, more than a dozen Good Samaritans rushed in to help. Without hesitation, they surrounded the vehicle, pulling the woman and her children to safety as the SUV continued to move. Their quick thinking may have saved three lives.

“More than a dozen Jacksonville Good Samaritans stepped in during a dangerous situation, potentially saving a mother and two children from serious injury or worse,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post describing the incident.

The suspect fled the scene, but not before bystanders provided authorities with a detailed description and the SUV’s license plate number. Deputies used that information to track Human down later that day at a local shopping center, where he was arrested without incident.

He now faces multiple felony charges, including child abuse and false imprisonment, as well as charges for battery, marijuana possession, and resisting an officer without violence.

The sheriff’s office has not released the names of those who intervened, but their actions have sparked praise from the community. Many praise the unnamed heroes who step in without fear, showing that sometimes, the most powerful love is the kind shown by strangers.