This 11-year-old girl is already being hailed by many as a hero.

An 11-year-old girl was almost abducted on Tuesday morning in Pensacola, Florida. The girl, whose name has not been revealed, was sitting at a bus stop. Released surveillance footage shows a white Dodge Journey drive past her while she was seated. It was then shown to drive back, and a man got out and fast approached the girl. 

The girl seemed to know something was wrong, as the video footage reveals she attempted to leave with her things before the man seized her. They ended up grappling, with the man eventually letting her go, at which point she grabbed her items and hastened home. The man, meanwhile, had returned to his vehicle and driven off in the direction she had gone.

Fortunately, the girl was able to make it home and informed her parents of the situation. They ended up calling the police, and the Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons reached out to the public for help to determine who the man was.

Jared Paul Stanga was identified and later arrested.

Apparently, Stanga had gotten some blue slime on him while trying to kidnap the girl, who had been playing with it. Surveillance footage from various parts of the town depicted him wearing the slime, according to Sheriff Simmons.

Police hit Stanga with multiple charges, including attempted kidnapping of a child under age 13, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery. Simmons also added in a press conference on Tuesday evening that the culprit had previous sexual offenses concerning children.

Ultimately, he had some grave words to sum up the incident: "I cannot help to think that this could have ended very different had this 11-year-old victim not thought to fight, and to fight, and to just never give up. This could have ended terribly ... Why else do you think that this man stopped his van and tried to pick her up and take her into that van? It doesn't take a genius to figure out what his intentions were. They were not good."

Simmons' take sounds accurate. But he also gave tremendous praise to the brave girl who was able to stave off this predator, calling her a "hero."

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