Over the weekend, a toddler from Australia was saved from a claw machine when he decided to take matters into his own hands and climbed through the prize chute to retrieve a stuffed animal.
Ethan, a 3-year-old boy, became trapped in a “Hello Kitty” claw machine on Saturday while he was at a Capalaba, Queensland, shopping centre with his family, according to police.
Ethan can be seen sitting among the stuffed toys behind the machine’s glass in police bodycam footage.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Timothy Hopper, Ethan’s father, told reporters that the toddler had crawled into the machine in “a split second” as he turned to talk to his other kids.
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“I had zero chance to react to it, it was unbelievable how fast he climbed up there,” said Hopper.
Hopper said that his family laughed at the incident after they got over their initial shock and realised Ethan was unharmed.
The father remarked, “But then it hit me, how am I going to get him out?” “I messaged my old man, and he asked me how many $2 coins I had, we can try and win him back,” said Hopper.
The police arrived at the shopping center after phoning the company that makes claw machines.
In order to smash the glass case, officers had Ethan’s family guide the toddler to the back corner of the machine and cover his eyes.
An officer broke through the glass and removed Ethan from the machine and the pile of stuffed animals. Ethan assured his father, “Don’t worry, Dad. I won’t do it again.”
But the toddler didn’t return home empty-handed. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, officers gave Ethan a plush koala dressed like a police officer as a way to commemorate the rescue.
