Grove City police say a 5-year-old boy helped stop a suspected car thief after his mother was attacked outside the Mid-Ohio Food Collective last Tuesday.

According to police, Chasity Worrick was at the food bank in Grove City with her children when she was suddenly struck and knocked to the ground.

“Some guy on the random come up and end up hitting me in my jaw, knocking me down, grabbing my keys, running,” Worrick said.

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Police identified the suspect as 20-year-old Shaliq Bing.

Investigators say Bing, another 20-year-old, and three teenagers had been riding around in a car stolen from Union County and were also suspected of stealing from Dick’s Sporting Goods earlier that day.

Dash camera video shows officers attempting to stop the vehicle before three of the five occupants fled on foot.

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Police say Bing ran across the interstate toward the food collective, where surveillance footage captured the assault on Worrick and the suspect running off with her keys.

Worrick said her children reacted immediately, including her 5-year-old son Adrian.

“My kids were running after and got my keys. He [Adrian] hit him and grabbed the keys, brought them back to me. Then, the officers took him down. It was that fast,” she said.

Grove City Lt. Jason Stern said the situation unfolded quickly and noted that officers generally advise against chasing suspects, but he acknowledged the child’s instinct to protect his mother.

“You see a young child say, ‘That’s my mom, nuh uh.’ Pretty impressive, pretty brave,” Stern said.

Police arrested Bing shortly after the attempted theft. Stern said the incident was distressing for the family.

“You have a mother and three children trying to get food, and this happens. This person chooses to do an evil thing in front of these children. These children had to see this. They saw their mother get hit in the face. No child should ever see that. It should never happen to anybody,” he said.

Worrick said she still has bruising from the attack and is grateful her children were not injured.

“You see a bunch of stuff every day, but you never realize when it’s actually you. You never think that anything would ever come across you,” she said.

Police say Bing is facing multiple charges, including two counts of robbery.

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