72-year-old, 68-year-old North Texas kidnap victims use knife to escape captor, police say

A man and a woman kidnapped in Midlothian earlier this week were able to fight their way out using a kitchen knife, police said.

Shortly before 10 p.m. Monday, DeSoto police notified the authorities in Midlothian of a possible kidnapping in the city, according to a Wednesday news release.

Investigators believe three “male subjects” went to a home in 5000 block of Vernon Point in Midlothian earlier that same evening. Midlothian is about 29 miles southwest of downtown Dallas.

The three suspects held a 72-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman at gunpoint then took them to an short-term rental property in DeSoto, police said. They tied up the pair before trying to access their bank accounts, according to police.

The victims loosened their restraints and armed themselves with a knife from the kitchen of the rental property. They were able to “subdue” their captor and escape to a neighboring home and call 911, according to police. The man and woman sustained “minor injuries,” police added.

The remaining captor, who left the area before officers arrived, is believed to have been wounded multiple times in the hands and could have a “severe knife wound” on his leg, police said.

One of the three suspects, identified as 20-year-old Noah Solomon Gulzar, knew the man and the woman from a “prior business venture,” police said.

Gulzar is facing two counts of aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon, and is believed to have lived in Red Oak and Ovilla, according to police.

Police are still trying to identify the two other people believed to have been involved in the kidnapping.

“Since one of the suspects was an acquaintance of the victims, we believe they were specifically targeted, and at this time we do not believe this incident poses a significant danger to the community,” Midlothian police said in a written statement.

Anyone with information about the incident, including the identities of the suspects involved, is asked to call the Midlothian Police Department at 972-775-3333 or email pd.cid@Midlothian.tx.us.