Police have identified a man they believe attempted to abduct a little boy at an elementary school in Hamilton, Ont., last week.
A kindergarten student was playing in the school's fenced-in playground on Thursday when he was taken, shortly after noon.
Hamilton police say that a male took the boy and started walking away from Earl Kitchener Elementary School, at 300 Dundurn St. S., near Aberdeen Avenue. But he was stopped by a woman approximately 200 metres from the school, after she noticed that the child was crying.
The suspect fled without incident, and the boy was brought back to school. He was shaken, but unharmed.
Dakota Hart, 47, is facing charges of forcibly seizing a person, assault with a weapon and breach of probation.
“The male was apprehended under the Mental Health Act on another matter,” police said Monday. “He was taken into custody and remains in a secure facility.”
Police said they have a warrant for Hart’s arrest, which will be executed after he is released from the facility.
After police and canines were unable to locate the suspect on Thursday, the school had asked parents to pick up their children at the end of the day, including those who normally take buses.
