A 35-year-old man was arrested around 9:30 am at 4th and Cedar after he grabbed a 4-year-old child and attempted to pull him away from his family.
The family of the child was participating in today’s Komen Puget Sound Race for the Cure around the Seattle Center this morning. Just before 9:30 am, at 5th and Broad, a stranger approached the child and grabbed him, pulling him away from his grandmother’s hand. The child’s aunt confronted the man and told him to let go. The suspect did, and then took off running. Fortunately, the child was not injured during this encounter.
The child’s father and uncle followed the suspect to 4th and Cedar, where they alerted a Seattle Police officer on traffic control for the event of the situation. The officer took the suspect into custody and called for patrol officers, who arrived immediately. According to the family, another family approached them while they were following the suspect and informed them that the suspect had attempted to grab another child earlier on the route before he had attempted to grab the 4-year-old. Officers were unable to locate the earlier victim, witnesses, or family.
The 35-year-old suspect was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Kidnapping. Detectives will conduct the follow up investigation.