While waiting for the bus on his way home to Montreal, Canada, 17-year-old Malyk Bonnet noticed something off in his surroundings.
He had just finished his shift as a cook at a restaurant and was waiting at a bus stop when he saw a couple on the street fighting.
“The guy was screaming at her, the girl. He wasn’t really gentle with her, and I started watching, because I thought he would hit her, so I approached them a little bit,” Malyk recalled.
The couple then asked him for money to take the bus to Laval. Malyk agreed and went into a nearby convenience store to get some change and give them some fare.
The teen got a moment alone with the woman. Terrified, she asked him for help and told him the man wouldn’t let him go even though she wanted to go home.
It became clear to Malyk that this woman had been kidnapped and needed his help, so he planned a strategy to bring her to safety.
Even though he lived in Montreal, Malyk told the couple that he was also going home to Laval and volunteered to accompany them on the bus.
“My plan was to keep them in a public place, where there’s a lot of people. I decided to make myself friendly with the man, so he would trust me. So I played my game,” he said.
Malyk didn’t know at the time that the police were already looking for the couple.
According to Laval police Lt. Daniel Guérin, they were searching for a 29-year-old woman kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend earlier that day. They believed that the man was extremely dangerous.
Turns out, the man had already been found guilty of assault and death threats against his ex-girlfriend the year before. He was under court order to stay away from her, but he clearly ignored it.
Photo by Laval Police
While he was with the couple, Malyk kept his cool. He continued talking with the man during the bus ride and on the metro going to Laval. He was waiting for the right moment when he could call the police.
Once they arrived at Laval, he brought the couple to a Tim Hortons and even gave them $50 to buy food. Unfortunately, by that time, Malky’s cellphone battery had died, so he pretended to go to the restroom and borrowed a phone from someone at the restaurant.
The man saw Malyk using a phone, but he diffused the situation by telling him that he had just called a cab.
Minutes after making the call, police arrived at the scene. The kidnapper didn’t even realize that it was Malyk who had called 911.
“He was really surprised, he didn’t know that it was me,” the quick-thinking teen said. “So I played my game right.”
Malyk didn’t get a chance to speak with the woman after her captor’s arrest, but he remembers seeing the look on her face when the officers arrived. He said she was almost crying.
Photo by Laval Police
“She was so happy, so happy not to be with him,” he recalled.
Lt. Guerin said that in his 24 years in the force, he’s never seen anything quite like this.
“He managed the situation very well and took good decisions that probably saved the life of this woman,” he said.
The officers were so impressed with Malyk that they initiated a collection to reimburse the teen for the $120 he had spent on bus fare and food. They ended up gathering $225.
“He’s a real hero, we all think,” said Lt. Guerin. “His quick actions may have saved this young woman’s life. He now has 500 new friends in our department.”
Police presented him with the money and gave him a tour inside the Laval police headquarters.
Malyk admits he’s had run-ins with the law before, but this incident allowed him to see police officers in a different light.
“I don’t think of myself as a hero, I’m just a normal guy,” Malyk said. “I guess I saved a life, though, and that’s really awesome.”
Because of his efforts, Malyk became an instant celebrity in his locality. And, of course, the person who feels proudest of him is his mother.
“My mom is so proud of me. She bought like eight Journals. She’s like, ‘I’m going to show them to your kids one day,” he said.
Although this story happened back in 2015, it’s still worth going back to so people can celebrate Malyk’s efforts. When he felt like something was off, he decided to get involved instead of turning a blind eye—and that makes him a truly remarkable human being!
Watch the video below to learn more about this teen’s bravery:
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