A mother in Victorville, California, experienced a parent’s worst nightmare on July 1: A man allegedly attempted to kidnap her daughter only a few feet away from her.
The mother, whose name has not been released, came into Macias Cellular & Computers around 2:30 p.m. with her 4-year-old daughter and a small baby in tow, according to CBS Los Angeles.
The woman mentioned to business owner Miguel Macias that there was a strange man in the parking lot.
“She had said that the guy was looking at her from when she got out of her car, but she didn’t think he would follow her,” Macias told the station.
But he did.
The girl was playing with a candy machine when a man appeared to suddenly grabbed her and attempted to pull her out of the store.
“She was just screaming, crying. She couldn’t believe it,” Macias recalled.
After a brief struggle, the girl was able to get away just outside of the store’s entrance, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
The suspect, later identified at 24-year-old Terry Lynn Ransom, allegedly fled the scene. People who heard the mother’s screams ran after him, according to the San Bernardino Sun.
Macias’ wife told CBS Los Angeles she saw Ransom “sit down in the middle of the street and laugh, and then he got up and started running again.”
Ransom was eventually tackled by bystanders and held until deputies arrived.
Ransom was taken to an area hospital for a mental health evaluation before being booked on kidnapping and child cruelty charges.
He remains behind bars on $250,000 bond until July 6, his next scheduled court date on July 6.
Police said the 4-year-old was scared and upset, but did not suffer any injuries, according to KABC TV.
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