'Get in the car, we have candy,' 3 men told a 10-year-old. His quick thinking saved his life in a nail-biting clip

The boy knew he had to save his life when the men started following him in the dark.

PUBLISHED 1 DAY AGO

(L) A man leaning out of a car window. (R) The child talking to an interviewer. Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Westend61; YouTube | Fox 13 News

Teaching a kid how to deal with strangers can make a big difference in some scenarios. A 10-year-old experienced that when strangers tried to lure him inside their car by offering him candy as he returned from basketball practice. The boy immediately realized that something was wrong and ran to save himself. The car full of men still followed him to his doorstep and the boy, Grayden Dowland, kept trying to get away from them and eventually managed to escape, per Fox 13 News.

A boy walking on the street. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Zeynepkaya

The boy went for basketball practice to his coach's house three times a week when the incident happened back in 2019. He was coming back home when he noticed a car. "I started walking home and there were two guys in a car," Grayden recounted. "They said, 'Hi' and I started walking faster. And they said, 'Get in the backseat, we have some candy.'" The men kept following the boy, so he ran to get away from them. He ran until he reached the front door of his house and the doorbell camera captured the horrifying moments as the men kept following him. They parked their car close to his neighbor's house and kept waiting there as the boy knocked on the door and screamed to call his mom.

A scared child leaning against the wall. Representative Image Source: Getty Images | juanestey

He screamed, "Get away, get away," as the men refused to leave. Grayden tried to get inside his house, but unfortunately, the doors were locked and he was stranded outside. "I picked up rocks and I was holding them. If they got any closer, I was going to throw them." At that moment, Grayden noticed that his neighbor's door was open. "The door was open, so I just ran in and closed the door and locked it." The video showed that the men still didn't leave and waited for a few minutes even after the boy went inside the house. "It was really real. I saw the video and it’s gut-wrenching," the boy's dad, David Dowland, pointed out. David was worried that it wasn't safe for his kids to go two doors down at six o'clock in the neighborhood.

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"We’ve been here for fourteen years and to have it happen on your front doorstep, literally, it’s an eye-opener," David remarked. The man pointed out that they were going to use a "buddy system" so no kid in the neighborhood was walking alone again, or a parent or the coach would walk with Grayden. The family was pretty shaken up after the incident and hoped that the same thing wouldn't happen to anyone else. People praised the boy's quick thinking in the comments section of the video.

@Vyansya wrote, "When he screamed 'GET AWAY!' my heart hurt. He sounded so brave yet desperate. Why would anyone have the heart to hurt children?" @k4inan commented, "This happened to me and my twin. A van parked in front of us and a man opened up the back, asking if we wanted candy. We didn't even realize the danger, we just said, 'No thank you' and moved on." @basicallyateddybear7860 remarked, "That boy is a champion! Did everything right, made a lot of noise, tried to run and was ready to go on the offense as a last stand. His parents should be very proud."