Good Samaritan stops rape in downtown Houston
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man walking downtown wasn't sure he could believe his eyes when he saw a woman being raped in the street.
Shahiyd Hajar-el said he was walking on Milam Street in downtown Houston when he came across a woman being attacked.
"I like to mind my own business, but when I see a woman getting attacked then it is my business," he said. "I ran to her and I whipped the dude off of her and I picked her up."
ORIGINAL REPORT: Woman says she was a victim of sex trafficking, brought to Houston for Super Bowl
Hajar-el confronted the rapist who then ran away. Police are searching for him.
The 21-year-old sex trafficking victim told authorities she was kidnapped in Ohio and brought to Houston specifically for prostitution during the Super Bowl. A rape counselor said the woman has mental impairment and suffers from seizures. Authorities believe that's why the pimp abandoned her downtown, where she was victimized by yet another attacker.
Hajar-el didn't know her back story- only that she needed help.
"That could have been your sister, my sister," he said.
Hajar-el said it's his faith that helped lead him to step in to help this stranger in need.
"If I would have just stood there or just walked past her, I wouldn't have been following the duty that Allah wanted me to do," he said.
The victim is being treated at a hospital.
Local authorities and the FBI are investigating the trafficking and rape.
