WATCH: Hero Chick-Fil-A Employee Saves Woman with Baby in Carjacking, Tackles Attacker and Holds Him Until Arrest

A Florida Chick-Fil-A employee has been dubbed a “hero” for saving a mother and child from an apparent car-jacking. Chick-Fil-A employee Mykel Gordon saved a woman who was taking her baby out of her car on Wednesday at a Chick-Fil-A when 43-year-old William Branch allegedly ran up to her holding a stick. He then grabbed her keys and went into her vehicle. The Hero employee tackled Branch and saved the mother and child from harm. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office charged Branch with carjacking with a weapon and battery.

It was an intense incident. Gordon knew something was amiss when the woman started “screaming.” He then approached Branch. Sheriff’s deputies said Branch punched the employee in the face during the altercation, but the woman and baby were not injured. 

The video below shows the employee protecting the woman and baby by tackling Branch to the ground.

Gordon put Branch in a headlock and held him down and then got back on his feet and prevented branch from escaping. While Branch sat in shame, a bystander woman is heard yelling, “She had a baby in her hands! How dare you!”

“The employees detained Branch until police arrived. They said he had been involved in another, unspecified incident shortly before the carjacking attempt, according to the sheriff’s office,” according to The New York Post.

When police arrived at the scene, they arrested Branch and thanked the Chick-fil-A employee profusely. “A major shout-out to this young man for his courage!” police wrote in a statement. “I couldn’t be prouder of his incredible act of care,” the operator of the Chick-fil-A told The Washington Post. 

This incident was not Gordon’s first rodeo, either. In September, 2018, Gordon was one of the first responders to help when a crane fell onto a car in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Gordon told the Post, “I didn’t have any time to react. It was nothing but instinct and I ran to the car. I think the Lord put me outside. As soon as this happened I had prayers in my head. I was helping her. I was on autopilot.”

“Gordon told the paper that he dropped what he was doing and rushed to the girls’ vehicle, carrying one of them to safety. Other bystanders eventually assisted, and the group helped the other girl safely escape,” The Washington Post reports.