Heart-stopping moment mother uses GAS PUMP to defend her child from stranger intent on abducting him from gas station in dead of night

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 18:13, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 18:17, 29 July 2026 A mother was forced to fend off a suspected kidnapper with a gas pump after he allegedly tried to abduct her child. The nightmare unfolded as she was filling up her car at a Shell gas station in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 23. Prosecutors identified the suspect as 30-year-old aspiring rapper Jerahn Tucker.   Heart-stopping surveillance footage shows the moment the mom, whose identity has not been publicly released, was confronted by a man identified by authorities as Tucker. The video shows the suspect approaching the mother's car as she was filling up at around midnight. The shirtless man then wanders around the vehicle before an exchange with the mom leads him to back off. The child inside then opens and shuts the passenger door, prompting the suspect to return. As he peers into the window, the mom takes a step forward as if to intervene, while her son makes a sudden break through the driver's side door.  The suspect then lurches towards the door and begins chasing him around the car before the mom grabs a gas pump and uses it as a weapon to warn him to back off. Shocking surveillance footage captured the moment a mother was forced to use a gas pump to fend of an a man as he allegedly tried to kidnap her child at a Shell gas station in Atlanta, Georgia The mother was praised by police for her quick thinking as she used the gas pump as a weapon to fend off the alleged kidnapping attempt  Jerahn Tucker was arrested near the scene without a shirt or shoes, and he is now facing attempted kidnapping charges According to Tucker's social media, he appears to be a wannabe Soundcloud rapper and musician. His employment status is not clear Tucker also allegedly tried to open the car's back door to get at the mother's other child in the backseat before he was chased away, police said. He allegedly tried to drive away from the scene, but he was arrested soon after by officers with the Marietta Police Department, with Cobb County Police also assisting in the arrest. Police said Tucker was not wearing a shirt or shoes when he was arrested.  A THC vape was also discovered in his car, police said.  The gas station manager reportedly told officers that he has kicked Tucker off his property multiple times before the alleged kidnapping attempt.   Tucker is now facing attempted kidnapping charges, with police praising the mother for her quick thinking.  Officer Charles McPhilamy, Marietta Police Department told WSBTV: 'The actions of the mother and everyone on the scene, their ability to remain calm under pressure and push him away, get him away from the children, get a hold of us so that we can get to the area allowed us to hold this individual accountable.' He added: 'The million-dollar question everyone watching is going to ask: Why did this happen? Why did this occur? And we don’t know those answers.'  According to Tucker's social media, he appears to be a wannabe Soundcloud rapper and musician. His employment status is not clear.