Self-defense for kids' sake

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Self-defense for kids' sake

Police and safety training experts taught kids how to fight, flee and call 911 if someone tries to abduct them at a workshop in Norcross Friday.

Police and safety training experts held a workshop Friday at Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross. Its aim was to teach kids how to fight, flee and call 911 if someone tries to abduct them. Nathan Ho, 9, of Duluth, delivers a knee to pretend attacker, Officer J.T. Ware, of Johns Creek Police Department.

Audrey Hays, 8, of Duluth, screams and gets in her defensive position during the workshop teaching kids how to fight, flee and call 911 if someone tries to abduct them.

Ashley Hays, 8, smiles as she puts on her helmet before getting instruction on how to fight back and get escape when accosted by a stranger.

Ashley Phillips, 8, hugs her mother, Paulette Phillips, of Lawrenceville, after she escaped during a simulated abduction.

From left to right, Ashley Phillips, 8, and Julia Chen, 8, both of Lawerenceville, Audrey Hays, 8, of Duluth, and Kara Kalish, of Suwanee smile as they watch their peers fight during the self defense class.

Stephen Daley, radKIDS founder, teaches students tips on how to get away from a stranger. Daley says radKids taps into the survival instincts of children by teaching them it's OK to defend themselves against attackers until they can escape.

Duluth attorney Gary Martin Hays, founder of Keep Georgia Safe, holds up a punching pad as Kara Kalish, 8, of Suwanee, hits it. Her mom, Sgt. Debbie Kalish, of the Johns Creek Police Department, yells instructions. Hays, who launched Keep Georgia Safe last year after three metro Atlanta women were abducted and murdered, said he'd like to see more children trained about what to do.

Sgt. Debbie Kalish, of the Johns Creek Police Department, gives instructions to students. Keep Georgia Safe, the non-profit organization that provides safety education and operates a wireless emergency alert network via cell phones, sponsored the demonstration.

Ashley Phillips, 8, of Lawrenceville, breaks away from Stephen Daley. National studies show that 53 percent of children who resist abductions get away and if a child resists, yells and runs, 90 percent get away safely, Daley said.

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Police and safety training experts held a workshop Friday at Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross. Its aim was to teach kids how to fight, flee and call 911 if someone tries to abduct them. Nathan Ho, 9, of Duluth, delivers a knee to pretend attacker, Officer J.T. Ware, of Johns Creek Police Department.

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