PONTIAC (WWJ) - A Lincoln Park man is being held in the Oakland County Jail, accused of trying to abduct a little girl from her mother's arms.
Oakland County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene at around 10 a.m. Saturday at the Star Liquor Store located in the 10 block of East Auburn Road on the report of an attempted kidnapping.
A Pontiac woman there told investigators a man had tried to grab her 3-year-old daughter, but stopped when the mom had yelled at him.
"Thankfully the mother was tuned in," Sheriff Mike Bouchard said. "She was nearby, really close and situationally aware and told him to step back and forcefully let him know that was not gonna happen."
The suspect stepped away then came back and grabbed the girl again, Bouchard said, trying to pull the child away from her. Only when a friend pointed a can of Mace at the suspect, the mom said, did he left go of the girl and run away.
No injuries were reported.
Deputies found the man a short distance away, walking along East Auburn Road at Shirley Street, and arrested him without incident.
Bouchard said the 30-year-old man was positively identified by the mother as the culprit, officials say, interviewed by detectives at the Pontiac Substation and then taken to the Oakland County Jail to await charges of attempted kidnapping and child enticement.
He is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
