It Won't Happen To Me: Cedar Rapids,IA

In this case, my first installment of "It Won't Happen To Me" involves a student at my instructor's school.


I'm going to say up-front - this young man was lucky. I don't mean he did anything wrong by walking home from school. He should be able to do that safely. The fact he was able to foil his attacker is excellent but the fact is he was attacked in the open, during the middle of the day.


Cedar Rapids is generally considered an excellent area in which to live. Keep that in mind when you read the following (last names omitted):

With a punch, sixth grader foils his attacker
By Christoph Trappe

The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS — Sixth grader Riley, 13, used a tae kwon do move to get away from an attacker wearing a ski mask, who was demanding money from him. ‘‘He was walking home from school; heard somebody behind him hollering,’’ said Riley's mom, Pam, 43, of Cedar Rapids, and a Gazette employee. The attacker pushed Riley in the chest and got in front of him Friday afternoon. Riley tried to walk away, police said.

‘‘Then he pulled something out of his pocket that looked like a knife,’’ Pam said.
Riley, who is 5 foot 4 inches and weighs about 100 pounds, was still facing off in the 600 block alley of 10th Street NW around 3 p.m. Friday with the attacker, described as being about two inches taller and weighing about 50 pounds more than the boy. Riley was walking home after his day at Roosevelt Middle School, 300 13th St. NW.

The yellow-belt, who will test for the next level soon, took matters into his hands — or fists — his mom said and police reports show.

‘‘He did a move,’’ his mom said. ‘‘He punched through the stomach with the yell and everything. He hit him hard enough to bring him to the knees.’’

Riley got away uninjured. No arrest has been made in the case as of last night.

For now, Riley will probably be picked up from school, his mom said. As far as Friday goes, Riley didn’t have any money on him to give to the attacker anyway.

Police reports show the attacker wore a ski mask, gray coat, blue jeans and white tennis shoes. His age is unknown because his face was covered but Pam said she believes he was an adult man.