Possibly an attempted abduction

[Bassn Blvd]

This incident happened 2 miles from where I live and where my wife and son (toddler) were shopping at today. The story was sent to me today and I want to pass it on. Parents, PLEASE keep your children attached to you and NEVER take your eyes off of them while you shop. Hold your child's arm, hand, hair, shirt or whatever while you shop. It only takes a SECOND to get distracted and risk losing your most valuable possession. Always be aware of your surroundings and who is nearby.

     

Here's the story.

I wanted to share a quick story of what happened to my family Saturday, Please feel free to email this on to anyone. We are still very upset about the incident.

      On Saturday, Nick, Caroline, Liam and I went to Target on Lantana and 441. Nick was looking at electronics and the kids were ready to move on so I took the two of them to the toys, the next department over. Caroline was looking at the toys at the end of the aisle, and Liam was just inside the aisle. He was about 3-5 feet diagonal from me. I was holding Caroline's hand and watching him. A couple walked between Liam and where I stood. This made me nervous so I began to move closer, when the lady bent down behind him and placed either hand up under his arms and began to lift him up. Before his feet were off the ground I already had him in my arms she immediately let go and walked away. I was yelling at her "That's my son, why did you touch my so n, why would you take my son? What were you doing?" She did not respond and looked at me like I was crazy, as she walked away from me down the aisle. The man then walked past us and I repeated myself to him. He too kept walking. I took the kids to Nick and told him "Someone just tried to take Liam." I showed him who they were and he confronted them. They acted like they didn't speak english, but the man then spoke and said "That she just wanted to tell him he had beautiful eyes and they didn't see the mother standing there." She too adventually responded in english saying, "I have two boys of my own." I was not with Nick at this point. I did not want Caroline to be exposed to anymore of the details. Another woman who heard me yelling stopped us to say she saw them walking away from us, and she too thought the situation to be unsettling. We then found a target employee to report the situation, but by then they had exited out of the store. There were several other details that made the situation even more suspicious. The man was carrying two canvas size bags, similar in size to diaper bags. I do not recall him wearing a hat or sunglasses at the time of the incident, but he had them on before he left the store. They exited the store immediately after Nick spoke to them, and got into two separate cars. They said she was commenting on his eyes, but she would not have been able to see his eyes from the angle and direction she came from. We are EXTREMELY thankful that our children are safe, but we want to ensure the safety of other people's children as well.

      Be sure to give your children an extra hug tonight.

[aceman387]

this is one of the first articles i read this morning on this site , it got my heart and blood pressure racing as I'm reading thru it .thank god it turned out good and that you re such a good and alert parent . holy crap this story is scary.

[moby bass]

I think your absolutely correct in your assessment of the situation.

Too many times people think it can't be happening to them and they don't react.  Thank God you did. Pretty brazen of them to try that with you so close.

[Sam]

Wow! That was close.

if I was you, I would have taken that lady out with one punch to the face.

No ifs, ands or butts.

I would have then walked calmly out of the store.  

[done]

Man...thank God your kids are alright. I would have been arrested, cause I would have rendered both of then unconscious. There is no reason anyone should be picking up another persons child like that.

[moby bass]

I know the first reaction is to deck them, but seriously, today, and unfortunately, you could get into a lot of trouble.  I think I would have continued to follow them, right to the car(s) and attempted to get license plate numbers.  Or even call 911 from a cell phone while following them out of the store.  This is one of those situations where there is an awful lot of afterthought about what could have been done.  Hopefully it will never happen to you again so that you have to put all of those "should haves" into play.

[done]

I know the first reaction is to deck them, but seriously, today, and unfortunately, you could get into a lot of trouble. I think I would have continued to follow them, right to the car(s) and attempted to get license plate numbers. Or even call 911 from a cell phone while following them out of the store. This is one of those situations where there is an awful lot of afterthought about what could have been done. Hopefully it will never happen to you again so that you have to put all of those "should haves" into play.

yeah I can understand that and please do not think I am double guessing or criticizing his reaction. Really you do not know what will happen until you experience it. I just know based on my nature, when it comes to threats to my wife/kids, my tendency would not be any form of rational thought, it would instead be violent reaction to a perceived threat to the kids. Hopefully I never have to find out

[Shane J]

I'm with you, M Starr. Somebody would have been on the floor. Scary stuff right there.

[Bassn Blvd]

I'm sorry for the confusion but this incident did NOT happen to me.  The story was sent to me yesterday.

The incident occurred last week 2 miles from where I live.  Thank you for being concerned though.

I, for one, would have resorted to violence.  I HATE when strangers walk up and try to hug my kid or give him kisses.  I asked one lady in the mall if she would like for me to tongue her down.  She about freaked out in discussed and gave me that "your a pig" look.  I simply told her "then keep your filthy hands and lips off my kid."

What happened in the story seems apparent that it could have been a possible abduction.  In that case, I'm throwing punches until he can't move and defend himself.  If he's bigger then me and I'm losing, then he's getting shot.  Right or wrong, It's as simple as that.  I'll deal with the consequences afterwards but NOBODY is taking my kid while I'm still standing.

[bass or bass ?]

June 27, 1986, in Tucson, Arizona, my daughter, Zosha Lee Pickett, was kidnapped from her own bed in the room across the hall from the bedroom her mother and I slept in. She was taken 3/4 of a mile from our home to an abandoned car where she was raped and murdered 18 days shy of her 3rd birthday. Even in your own home, there is no guarantee of safety. I had a poster in my front window of a revolver pointing at you with the script "never mind the dog, beware of owner" and a large very protective Belgian Shepherd dog. The killer still risked, and successfully perpetrated the assult. Treasure every day with your children. You never know when it will be your last.

[Bassn Blvd]

OMG. I've seen where you have made mention of your daughter but never knew the story. Was the suspect ever caught?

[grimlin]

I'm with you, M Starr. Somebody would have been on the floor. Scary stuff right there.

X2... Very Scary,I would have lost it on both the woman and man.

I always make my kid walk a foot in front of me where i can see him all the time.I always feel safer when he's in full sight and within my arm's reach.

[bass or bass ?]

OMG. I've seen where you have made mention of your daughter but never knew the story. Was the suspect ever caught?

Yes, several years later, a cadet at the police academy was doing an AFIS fingerprint search as an exercise and found a match to the crime scene prints. The perp was doing time on an unrelated sex offense at the state prison in Florence Arizona. I attended the trial and execution. I'm still changed for the worse for the rest of my life. I live a relatively normal life, but this experience messes you up permanently. I'm not an easy person to live with.

My current wife's late husband was a Maricopa County Detention officer. He was murdered investigating a criminal activity outside the home we now live in in August of 1986. His killer is serving a life sentence.

So, my wife isn't exactly the easiest person to live with either, but we manage. We will celebrate our 19th anniversary October 19th.

[Hammer 4]

One thing I can't tolorate, and that's adults thta harm kids in anyway...here in so cali, I see kids running unsupervised all the  time, at stores, parks, streets. What are some parents thinking..?

There should be a required mental check before people are allowed to have kids... >

[Redlinerobert]

This story made my blood boil as well.

I don't have any kids, but I do have nephews and nieces.  I'm glad to read that the child was not taken.

[flechero]

Stories like this mean even more to me now that i have a child...  what a sick and twisted world this has become.  I have no doubt that I'll be an "over protective" parent, even though I never wanted to be.

I used to consider it an inconvenience when wal-mart did the lockdowns for lost kids but now I cringe every time they do it.  Thankfully most are just momentarily lost.

[roadwarrior]

When perps like this are caught, the only question is:

Were they shot trying to escape or resisting arrest?

>

[Bassn Blvd]

When perps like this are caught, the only question is:

Were they shot trying to escape or resisting arrest?

>

EXACTLY!!!  And hey, I finally started a post that didn't get locked after 10 replys.

[christopherjake]

Thanks for sharing your story.  I'm glad you took the actions you did.  It's always better to be safe than sorry.