7-year-old honored for bravery in attempted kidnapping

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The 7-year-old girl who kicked and screamed when a man picked her up in a west Georgia Wal-Mart was honored for her bravery Friday at her school.

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Channel 2 Action News Brittney Baxter, 7, was honored for her bravery Friday at Tallapoosa Elementary School, two days after she kicked and screamed when picked up by an attempted kidnapper.

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Channel 2 Action News A man tries to take a child from a Wal-Mart in west Georgia.

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Channel 2 Action News, Channel 2 Action News A man tries to take a child from a Wal-Mart in west Georgia.

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Channel 2 Action News Brittney Baxter, 7, was not injured in an attempted abduction at a west Georgia Walmart.

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Brittney Baxter, a second-grader, shared her story with classmates and teachers at Tallapoosa Primary School, just two days after she was nearly kidnapped while her mom shopped nearby.

Brittney's actions prompted the suspect, Thomas Andrew Woods, to put her down and run out of the store, police said. Security cameras in the store captured the attempted kidnapping and gave investigators enough clues to find the suspect just a few miles away.

Brittney's school decided to use the incident as a safety lesson for other children.

"I feel like Brittney is now able to be like the ambassador for this, and our children now have had a conversation with their parents," school counselor Emily Altman told Channel 2 Action News.

Students at the school recently learned what to do if approached by strangers, and Brittney's family and teachers believe the girl did what she was taught, avoiding a potentially dangerous situation.

Woods, on probation following a 7-year sentence in state prison on a voluntary manslaughter conviction, remained in custody Friday in Haralson County Jail.