Olympiacos and Mexican National team striker Alan Pulido was rescued about 24 hours after he was kidnapped at gunpoint by masked men in this home town of Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas, but the details of his escape are as crazy as the kidnapping itself. Pulido was leaving a party with his girlfriend on Saturday night when his car was surrounded by several other cars and he was taken away by masked men, leaving his girlfriend alone. According to Mexican officials, Pulido was able to overpower one of the kidnappers and stole a gun and cellphone away from him and called emergency services as he fought the man off.
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Another report indicates police instructed Pulido to fire the gun he got during the scrum when they arrived, so they would know they had the right location, but he told them the gun did not have any bullets. Pulido also cut his hand on a window trying to escape.Pulido was taken to a hospital for evaluation but his current team, the Greek side Olympiacos, F.C. later said he was "healthy and safe with his family." Pulido spoke briefly with reporters on Monday and said that he was "very well, thank God."A 38-year-old man was arrested in connection with the kidnapping, and has apparently confessed to being a member of a local gang. Police are still searching for three other men believed to be involved in the kidnapping.[BBC | AP]State prosecutor Ismael Quintanilla said the masked gang had taken Pulido to a house in Ciudad Victoria where he eventually found himself alone with one of his abductors.
"They traded blows. He takes it [the phone] and calls [emergency number] 066. It all happened very quickly," Mr Quintanilla told Imagen radio.
An official report of the calls Pulido made to the emergency operator, obtained by the Associated Press, revealed that he threatened and beat the kidnapper while on the phone, demanding to be told where they were.
In one of the calls, Pulido said police were outside and starting to shoot so he described what he was wearing to avoid being mistaken for a kidnapper.