First grader saves mom by secretly slipping a note to the school bus driver with the message 'Call 911'

Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of abuse that some readers may find distressing.

A first-grade child in Iowa showed remarkable courage by calling cops on his mom's alleged abuser. Following his tip, when authorities reached the residence, they saw the victim with multiple injuries and immediately arrested the man accused of assaulting her throughout the night, News 13 reported. When the woman failed to call for help, her child stepped in and acted heroically just as he was boarding his school bus the next day.

The Fayette County Sheriff's Office said that the mom was unable to inform the cops about the suspect, 29, so she wrote a note on a piece of paper and gave it to the child. Her son secretly slipped the note, which read, "Call 911," to his school bus driver. Luckily, the driver didn't assume it to be just another bluff and did as the note instructed. When deputies learned about a possible assailant, they rushed to the woman's residence. When the authorities reached the victim's house, Miller, a man unrelated to the family, opened the door, and when they insisted on speaking with the woman, she came out of a bedroom with evident bruises on her face.

The investigation found that the victim had serious injuries and was held at knifepoint. In fact, he had kicked the victim so hard that a medical check-up revealed she had suffered two broken ribs and a punctured lung. Miller was detained on charges of domestic abuse, 2nd-degree kidnapping, and obstructing emergency communications. Reportedly, Miller wanted to take the victim to the hospital but decided against it because he feared he would be arrested.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has also apparently requested that the authorities keep Miller in jail. The child showed incredible courage, but the driver’s quick response was equally crucial for the timely rescue. In an Indian survey (Breakthrough), while 54.6% of participants had intervened in an incident of violence against women in a public space, 31% of those who didn't said they were worried about their safety. Moreover, they found that 11.5% of those who didn't intervene to stop the violence felt they would be dragged into police/legal matters. This goes on to prove that not everyone has the fearlessness of the child and the driver who called the authorities to help someone by going out of their way.

However, Malyk Bonnet, 17, from Laval, Quebec, is built differently. In 2015, he was heading home from his restaurant job when he noticed a couple arguing near a bus stop. "The guy was screaming at her. He wasn’t really gentle with her, and I started watching, because I thought he would hit her," he told CBC News. Bonnet felt something very strange about the situation, so he pretended to befriend the man and accompanied them on public transit. When the woman secretly begged him to help her, he lured them to a Tim Hortons and used the opportunity to call the police, leading to the man's arrest. It was revealed that the woman was abducted by her ex-partner, who had a history of violence and was under a restraining order. 

If you are being subjected to domestic abuse or know of anyone else who is, please visit The National Domestic Violence Hotline website, call 1-800-799-7233, or text LOVEIS to 22522.

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