Good Samaritan Frank Kaminsky carried a baby down 44 flights of stairs during a bomb scare
An afternoon of video games and snacking turned into something much more for Charlotte Hornets forward Frank Kaminsky on Thursday, when a bomb threat reportedly forced his entire apartment building to evacuate.
The 7-footer recounted his experience during the scare on Friday, telling reporters that it began with him settling in for his usual routine of playing “Fortnite” while downing Cheez-Its, according to the Charlotte Observer.
How Frank Kaminsky escorted a box of Cheez-Its and a baby to safety
A fire alarm reportedly interrupted those plans. Kaminsky said he usually ignore such warnings, but an announcement that the high-rise building had received one of many bomb threats in the area that day. Kaminsky apparently took that warning a little seriously. As he prepared to walk down 49 flights of stairs, he picked one thing and one thing only to take with him, then received something a little important on the way down.
From the Observer:
“I had to walk down 49 stories because they shut off the elevators. Instead of grabbing my keys and my wallet, I grabbed a box of Cheez-Its for the long journey down,” Kaminsky recalled after shoot-around Friday morning.
“About three stories down, there was a lady with a baby and a dog and a couple of other things she had to carry, so I just helped her carry the baby.”
Kaminsky told reporters that he knew the mother who was in need of help, so this might qualify more as being a good neighbor than an anonymous hero, but it’s a lovely act either way. The player confirmed the story through Twitter on Friday night, as did the baby’s mother through Instagram.
This was a true story
Also, I made a new friend…and got in a good work out pic.twitter.com/bj9fkcRQJQ
— Francis Kaminsky III (@FSKPart3) December 15, 2018
A post shared by Liz Prakash-Varner (@liz.prakash) on Dec 13, 2018 at 12:34pm PST
The former National Player of the Year at Wisconsin is playing in his fourth season since being drafted ninth overall by the Hornets in the 2015 NBA draft. He’s currently averaging a career-low in minutes per game with 12.7, but he’s at least been more efficient with career-highs in field-goal percentage (.479) and 3-point percentage (.344).
Once Kaminsky and his cargo had reached the ground floor, they were reportedly stranded for some time as the bomb threat was investigated. They might have received the all-clear to re-enter earlier than you’d think, but there was something a little more important to wait for:
“I’m not walking back up 49 floors,” Kaminsky said. “That’s just not a thing that’s going to happen.”
That isn’t the end of the story, though. The mother would like some credit for carrying down Kaminsky’s Cheez-Its.
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