California police arrested two employees of IASCO Flight School on May 24 when they kidnapped and attempted to deport Tianshu "Chris" Shi. Shi is a foreign flight school student on a visa. Jonathan McConkey and Kelsi Hoser were taking Tianshu Shi to the airport when police were called by the student's family. The pair showed up at Shi's apartment and told him that he was going to be "shipped back." Investigators say that Shi sustained minor injuries during the kidnapping and during the transportation to the airport. The two perpetrators were freed after their bond was paid.

They were charged with kidnapping and assault.

Kidnapping

Tianshu Shi is a 21-year-old student who arrived in the United States seven months ago on a vocational visa. The Civil Aviation Flight University of China paid about $70,000 for Shi to train in California. It was pointed out that the Chinese students the flight academy would receive spoke little to no English, and two flight instructors decided to take matters into their own hands. According to Time, they arrived at Shi's apartment at 11 PM and told Shi to pack his bags. Tianshu Shi got no sleep, and by morning he recorded his two kidnappers talking about taking him to the airport and saying that the United States needed him out of the country.

McConkey shoved Tianshu Shi onto the countertop and forced him to the floor. The student feared for his life and went with the two employees.

Transport

A report by KCRA stated that during the trip to the airport, Tianshu Shi was able to contact his brother in Shanghai. When his brother did not hear from him a short time later, he contacted another flight school student.

As they spoke, the student mentioned that Tianshu Shi had been assaulted and kidnapped. Hearing this and fearing for his brother, he called the Redding Police. The police began searching for Shi and his kidnappers. Luckily, they were able to find all three of them before they got to the airport. The two employees had Shi's passport and belongings, along with a plane ticket to China.

Shi sustained minor injuries, while the employees were taken in for questioning, where they admitted to their crime and were charged. However, both were released shortly after being taken in due to their bond being paid.

Shi is thankful that his brother called the police, and that they got to him in time.

“At that moment, police is my Jesus,” Shi said -- according to Time.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED