An armed Iowa mother drew her concealed weapon and courageously stopped two kidnappers who were trying to take her son, according to Des Moines police.
The frightening incident unfolded on Jan. 5 when Shay Lindberg, the manager of the Hubbell Tower Apartments, was getting ready to leave her office. It was then that she reportedly saw 56-year-old Laurie Potter and 43-year-old Michael Ross walking back and forth at her door with Potter waving at her son.
Lindberg thought the pair were there to apply for a job and decided to leave through the skywalk. But the report says at that point Potter told Lindberg to return her son to her and crouched down by the boy. The suspect then allegedly said she was the child’s real mother and that his father was Thor.
The police reported that one of the suspects grabbed the child by the arm and tried to run away.
Not so fast. Lindberg, who was armed and prepared, produced her weapon and ordered them to “let go of my kid.” The suspects, who are reportedly homeless, then tried to escape. But the area was patrolled by private security firm Par Mar Security Services, and their getaway was thwarted.
Des Moines, Iowa police arrested Michael Ernest Ross and Laura Lynn Potter on Jan. 5 for allegedly attempting to steal Shay Lindberg’s son from her. The two were stopped after Lindberg pulled a handgun out to fend them off.
Will Hunter, a site supervisor with the company, received a call from Lindberg at approximately 4:30 p.m. relating the alleged kidnapping attempt. He and his partner were there within five minutes, and Hunter had encountered the suspects earlier in the day. He said he took a picture of Ross when he came upon them, and that photograph was later used to identify him.
The security officer said that Potter had repeatedly tried to set up camp in the skywalk.
Hunter followed the suspects, who he described as “super agitated,” and Des Moines police arrived shortly afterwards as they tried to escape on a city bus. But law enforcement was then able to have the bus rerouted so the pair could be safely removed and arrested.
Each suspect was held in the Polk County Jail on a $50,000 bond and a no-contact order concerning the child was issued. Hunter described the ending as an “ideal outcome.” He added that the mother “used a legal concealed weapon as a deterrent and no shots were fired, no mess.”
Des Moines spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek explained that “in this case, the display of a handgun had the desired effect, and a mother was able to protect her child.” Crediting her foresight to have a weapon available, he said that “the pivotal piece to keeping her child safe was the fact that she was lawfully armed with a handgun.”
He further declared that “this incident, and other recent events involving self-defense with a firearm, should send a strong message to criminals. The risk of being seriously injured or killed while committing a crime is very real.”
Yet again, the presence of a legally concealed handgun saved the day. While there were undoubtedly mental issues at play with the suspects, the threat to the child was very real. The mother, far from being a helpless victim, stood her ground and stopped a potentially tragic crime from being committed.
Whenever self-serving politicians or the mainstream media whine about Second Amendment freedoms, remember this Iowa child whose life could have been dramatically altered or even ended if his mother had not been both armed and prepared to defend her precious son.
Despite good intentions, all the “thoughts and prayers” in the world would not bring her son back to her. Instead, faced with a threat to her family, this mother exercised her constitutional rights and defended what is most important to her. She is a hero, and having a legally concealed firearm changed her life forever.
