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Aug 21, 2008 6:52 pm US/Central
Security Guard Reaches Out To Boy With Stolen Bike
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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Willie Hopkins and others at the Minneapolis Library now call their new friend "Lucky Seven."
CBS
A security guard at the downtown Minneapolis Library went above and beyond the call of duty for a little boy who is a regular there.
Twelve-year-old Seven Boontsunkhumkhewmanee is spending the summer in Minneapolis with his aunt and uncle. It's a long way from his native Bangkok, Thailand but he now knows what Minnesota nice is really all about.
The child rides his bike to the downtown Minneapolis Library several times a week.
"First time I parked my bike over there and I locked my bike, and I went in the library for three or four hours," said Seven.
When he came out, his brand new bike was gone... stolen.
"Bust my lock, it was still here. My helmet was still here but my bike was gone," said Seven.
While he frantically tried to find it, library security guard Willie Hopkins spotted Seven.
"I recall watching him walk around the building, looking for his bike in tears," said Hopkins.
After he saw those tears, Hopkins found a special place in his heart for Seven because when he was a little boy his bike was stolen too.
"I felt like I was the only one out there and everyone was against me. It's a lonely feeling," recalled Hopkins.
After several days without wheels, library security called Seven's uncle.
"I remember it perfectly. They said 'We've got Seven's bike,' and I said 'No way,'" said Seven's Uncle Paul Schmelzer.
However, when they got there they saw a brand new bike, not the one that was stolen.
"Instead it was a beautiful Schwinn. It looked brand new," said Schmelzer.
Hopkins and a few other security guards pitched in to buy it for him.
"I felt the guy's pain when I watched him walking around looking for that bike. I felt really bad for him," said Hopkins.
Seven was overjoyed.
"It's really good and it's really shiny," he said.
His uncle was overwhelmed.
"It was pretty moving," Schmelzer said.
And Hopkins got a pal for life.
"I'm friends with him now," Seven said.
Hopkins and others at the Minneapolis Library now call their new friend "Lucky Seven."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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