OREANDA-NEWS. Watching the detective series helped an 11-year-old girl in the United States fight off a man who attacked her, and her actions made it easier for police to catch the criminal, according to the website of the Today TV show on NBC.

Earlier, police in Escambia County, Florida, posted a video on Facebook on May 18 showing a man trying to drag a girl into a car. The child, who, according to the police report, was waiting for the bus, managed to resist and escape. Police later said the attacker had been detained and charged with attempted kidnapping of a child under 13, aggravated assault and battery.

The girl reportedly watched the detective series Law & Order: SVU frequently. According to County Police Sheriff Chip Simmons, the girl stated that it was from the show that she learned that the attacker needed to be tagged somehow so that he could later be identified. As she said, the man approached her holding a knife. At this point, she was playing using blue paint, so when the man grabbed it, she made it so that the paint would hit him.

"I am very proud of myself ... I knew that paint would be the best evidence if the police find it," the girl said on the air of the TV show. According to Simmons, when the suspect was detained a few hours later, paint was found on him. “She fought like a soldier,” he added.

Earlier, the county sheriff said that the man who attempted the kidnapping, 30-year-old Jared Paul Stanga, has a criminal record, in particular sex crimes against children.