Armed Samaritans Stop Attempted Kidnapping in Florida

Link to video on YouTube. 

On May 31, 2026, before 11 a.m. a woman who had obtained a domestic violence injunction, escaped kidnapping in a church parking lot. Two armed Samaritans intervened and prevented an armed man from dragging the woman away. In a news conferenced Police Chief Leo Niemczyk identified the suspect as Jose Tsu Zamora, 64, who had been in a long term prior relationship with the victim.

Zamora is a convicted felon who is reported to have said to the victim, words to the effect: If I can’t have you, nobody can. The suspect is reported as knowing the victim attended the church in Port St. Lucie, and intercepted the victim as she exited a vehicle.  From cbs12.com: 

Two male bystanders, who told police they were armed, intervened and confronted Zamora. Chief Leo Niemczyk with PSLPD credited the two bystanders for saving the woman’s life.

Several people are reported as seeing the attempted kidnapping. One man is seen confronting the suspect, seconds later, another runs into the scene. The video appears to show what may be a holster on the second armed Samaritan. 

Before 1987, it would have been unlikely two people in a church parking lot in Florida would have been armed and able to respond to a kidnapping by an armed man. The suspect was reported to have held a handgun against the victim’s side as the kidnapping was attempted. 

In 1987, Florida passed a shall issue concealed carry permit bill, which is credited with being the start of the shall issue revolution in the United States. Another change since 1987 is the increase in church security teams. News coverage has not mentioned if the armed Samaritans were part of a church security team.

As of 2025, over 20 million concealed carry permits were active in the United States. In 29 states no permit is needed for people to carry loaded handguns, either openly or concealed, in most public spaces.

John Lott and others have published peer reviewed papers which show an increase in concealed carry permits is correlated with a drop in violent crime. Other academics dispute this finding. Papers sometime claim to show a limited increase in very specific types of crime in particular states.  Most of the literature shows either a decrease in violent crime or no measurable change. 

©2026 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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