VINTON, Va. – Three Vinton police officers are getting a lot of attention on social media after making a difference for a young victim.
Surveillance video from a business captured a woman grab 5-year-old Noah's tricycle off the sidewalk in front of his house and shove it into an SUV.
"I'm like, 'What are you doing? That's my son's tricycle,'” said Nikki May, Noah’s mom. “I thought that maybe she just was thinking it was just disregarded, but she didn't. Threw it right in the back of the car. She was making eye contact with me the whole time I'm yelling at her, and she just jumps in the back seat with the tricycle and they just speed off down the road.”
What you can't see in the video is Noah witnessing the whole thing.
When the three officers marked on duty Sunday they were shocked to hear what happened the night before.
"It broke my heart that somebody could be low enough to do this right in front of a child and steal a child's toy like that,” explained Sgt. Tim Lawless.
“I saw it as a call to action, you know, that something you have to make right,” said Officer Danny Cox.
The men came up with an idea to help the little guy.
“We all three work together every day, and we decided to put our money together,” said Officer Silas Chapman.
They bought Noah a brand new Paw Patrol bike and matching helmet and delivered it to his front yard, the scene of the crime.
“I would've felt bad if we didn't do something about it, honestly. This is our community and we're charged with serving the community, so it's only right that we make it right,” said Cox.
“It warmed my heart. It was just amazing to see how good that these people could be,” Nikki said.
She saw, and so did the thousands who responded to the officers' generosity on social media, a gesture definitely worth sharing.