Image via: @Abramjee / Twitter screenshot
Man arrested for allegedly trying to abduct a child in Florida [video]
A 24-year-old man, who allegedly tried to abduct a child at a Florida restaurant, was arrested shortly after the incident on Thursday.
Image via: @Abramjee / Twitter screenshot
A video regarding an alleged child abduction in Florida Johannesburg has gone viral on social media on Friday 11 September.
Warning: The content contained within this article features graphic imagery of a violent nature which some readers may find disturbing.
The video shows two women sitting down at a table with a young child outside a restaurant. Suddenly, an unknown man jumps over the railing and can be seen heading straight for the child. The man, who is now an arrested suspect, could also be seen violently groping the child around her neck.
WATCH: CHILD ABDUCTION INCIDENT IN FLORIDA
Police confirmed that the violent incident took place one day earlier on Thursday 10 September. SAPS Captain Kay Makhubela said the man grabbed a four-year-old child by her neck as though he wanted to take her.
“It is alleged that on [10 September 2020] at about 17:00 the complainant was at the Pizza Shop in Florida with her four-year-old child when an unknown male came and grabbed the child by her neck as if he wanted to take her,” said Makhubela.
“The mother and the child screamed and with the help of the shop owner and the community the suspect was apprehended,” he added.
The 24-year-old suspect was arrested and appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Friday morning.
HERE’S WHAT CAN BE SEEN IN THE VIDEO
When watching the video, two women can be seen sitting outside a restaurant at a table. Suddenly, they all turn around to look back. We can’t, however, see what they were looking at as it was out of the view of the camera. A few moments after they turned back to the table in front of them, an unknown man jumps over the railing and heads straight for the young child’s throat.
One of the women who was sitting directly across from the child at the Flordia restaurant literally jumped across the table to protect the child. Another man, who is assumed to have been a customer, rushed over and grabbed the man. A fight ensued but security eventually managed to detain the suspect. The video ends there.
SOCIAL MEDIA USERS HORRIFIED
Reactions to the dreaded Florida video have been filled with emotions as one can imagine. Users have been stressing the need for parents to watch their children even if they’re right next to them.
A follow-up video was also posted while the suspect was laying on the ground and many theories and assumptions have been made. According to social media users, the suspect was trying to take the child to Nigerians in exchange for drugs. This, however, cannot be confirmed at this stage.
Other social media users claimed the father of the child sent the suspect to take her amid an alleged heated custody battle. Others commented on the woman at the next table who was seen casually and nonchalantly drinking throughout the incident.
