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A family of taekwondo fighters stops a man from sexually harassing a woman

(CNN) — When Simon An and his family heard screams coming from a store next to their taekwondo studio outside Houston, Texas, on Wednesday, they knew they had to find out what was going on.

An, 20, and his family – all of whom practice martial arts – immediately went next door. There, they found a man attempting to sexually assault a woman and intercepted the suspect, holding him until police arrived, according to an X-post from Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

An told CNN on Friday that the family had returned from lunch and was parked outside the Yong-In studio in Katy when his father heard a “loud scream” as he got out of his car. Then the whole family heard “a second scream, and it was loud. Very loud.” “I would describe it as a horror scream.”

His father led the family into a nearby Cricket Wireless store. Hearing another scream, he opened the door and rushed to the staff room at the back, where he saw “a man lying on top of the woman with his hand over her mouth,” An said.

CNN has contacted Cricket Wireless for comment.

“Our first instinct was to save the girl,” An said. “We didn’t know what he would do to her.”

“My father just pulled him down and nailed him in the corner of the building,” An described.

His father suffered some scratches and bites in the scuffle, but overall he is “fine,” An added.

Alex Robinson, 19, has been charged with attempted sexual assault in connection with the case, according to court documents obtained by CNN affiliate KHOU. Robinson is accused of taking the victim to another location, “inflicting physical injury by choking,” “touching her breast” and ordering the victim to remove her clothes.

Robinson’s bail was set at $100,000. CNN has contacted his attorney for comment.

In an interview with KHOU, An’s sister, 22-year-old Hannah An, said she and her mother took the alleged victim to their training center to “make sure she was OK, because that’s what she needed after that experience.”

The couple’s father, Han An, told KHOU he was grateful to have been in the right place at the right time and was looking forward to attending classes again.

“My life is Taekwondo,” he said. “I am very proud of my family.”

The Harris County Sheriff praised the An family as “good Samaritans” and thanked them for their “quick action to protect others.”

The-CNN-Wire

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