A man is facing three charges, including assault, after he allegedly tried to abduct a five-year-old girl while she left a Scarborough store with her mother and siblings Wednesday afternoon.
According to police, the mother was shopping at a Marshalls store near Warden and Eglinton with her three children when a man approached her young daughter and tried to start a conversation with her.
Police say the girl started to scream and ran to her mother, who confronted the man.
The reaction prompted the man to quickly leave the store and walk into the parking lot where he was spotted pacing around.
Store security called police shortly after the mother alerted them of the incident.
Security guards then offered to escort the mother and her children to their vehicle but while doing so, police say the same man ran toward the group and tried to grab the girl.
Responding officers, who had just arrived at the scene, were able to apprehend a suspect in the parking lot.
The girl was not hurt during the ordeal but a witness told CP24 that the family appeared distraught and described the scene as “scary.”
Police identified a suspect in connection with the abduction on Thursday.
Pickering resident Tyrone Bartley, 39, was charged with assault, mischief under $5,000 and abduction of a person under the age of 14.
He was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday morning.
