Every year in the United States, nearly half a million children are reported missing. While this remains a startling statistic, the popularization of items like cell phones have actually helped numbers go down. With a cell phone, a child can easily phone for help if approached by a stranger— but occasionally, something happens that requires some… extra help.
A few years ago, a teen named Cameron Cook was shopping at a local Target when an older man caught his eye.
Cameron and his mother were walking around the store when the teen noticed the man grabbing himself with a “demonic” look.
The stranger seemed fixated on a 12-year-old girl pushing a cart in the toy aisle.
In an interview with CBS Boston, the teen recalled: “My mom goes, ‘Cam, let’s go! Keep walking.’ I was like, ‘No. Something is going on.” As they got closer, Heather could smell the scent of alcohol coming off the stranger’s breath.
Cameron watched the man from afar, but when he saw the stranger thrust himself and rub onto the startled girl, the teen immediately stepped in.
“So I went up to him, I was like, ‘Excuse me sir, do you know her?”
“And then the first thing he said was, ‘I’m not a pervert. I’m not a pervert.'”
“I was like, ‘I didn’t ask you that, sir.'”
Cameron’s mother Heather Cook later told CBS Boston: “[The man] was big… And Cameron had no fear at all. He just stood firm on the fact that he knew what this man was doing was wrong.”
Cameron then suggested the man leave the store to which he ultimately agreed— cursing the whole way out before hopping into a waiting car.
According to reports, the 12-year-old’s mother had gone to the bathroom while her daughter browsed the toy aisle. As you can imagine, she was extremely grateful for Cameron’s quick thinking and courageous deed. The store’s surveillance footage was later handed over to the police.
Although the teen’s been praised as a hero, his mother isn’t surprised by his actions. “He’s not afraid to do what’s right,” she said. Cameron’s always been a confident leader, capable of standing up in a crowd.
For his bravery, Cameron was honored by his city council and the Boston Celtics basketball team.
“I just felt I had to step in and say something,” he said. “You have to stand up for what you know is right.”
“It’s not even about courage; it’s about being a person, a human— anyone can stand up and do something like that.”
Since being uploaded, Cameron’s story has been viewed more than 4 million times.
Aside from being a hit with the ladies, people love the way he stood up for a girl he didn’t even know. Comments on the video read:
“Omg, what a brave kid!”
“Cameron is a true hero! … Who knows what could have happened to her! She could have been abducted while her mom was in the bathroom if no one intervened.”
“Wow, God bless this young man. He’s amazing.”
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