THE mother of a two-year-old toddler was left traumatised on Saturday after what she believes was an attempt to kidnap her son at a local shopping centre.
Her post caused a frenzy on social media over the weekend with parents sharing it to warn others.
The reported incident happened at Glenacres Shopping Centre.
Kempton Park SAPS is still looking into the incident and could not confirm yet whether a case of attempted kidnapping is being investigated. Capt Jethro Mtshali, spokesman for Kempton SAPS, said a case of robbery had been opened in connection with the incident at Glenacres Shopping Centre.
Since the incident, management of Glen Acres has published CCTV footage regarding the incident at the centre.
According to the mother, the incident at Glenacres occurred on Saturday morning at about 11.15am.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was in the family car with her two sons waiting for her husband, who had gone to take ID photographs.
“I was sitting in the back of the VW Caravelle, feeding my one-year-old. His brother watched Barney on a headrest DVD screen in the car on the middle seat at the window. I noticed a man appeared dressed as a security guard,” the traumatised mother told EXPRESS on Monday.
Within seconds, the man pulled open the door and tried to grab her two-year-old son, she said.
Also read:
• Young athlete receives counselling after horror abduction
• Dad weekend turns into horror abduction for his mom
• WhatsApp message about abductions is a hoax
“Thank goodness he was strapped into his car seat. After trying unsuccessfully to pull him out, he decided to grab my husband’s laptop bag.”
Inside the bag was a brand new company laptop, her husband’s passport and cellphone.
The robber jumped into a getaway car that was parked next to the family’s kombi and sped off.
Along with the video, centre management of Glenacres posted a short statement on their Facebook page, saying they had reports of an attempted kidnapping and theft and described how the incident unfolded.
The post tells readers to focus on the man next to the green car on the left hand side of the screen.
“The suspect walks up to the silver kombi. He can be seen looking into the window of the vehicle, identifying the bag he intended on taking. The suspect waits for the white Toyota (get away vehicle) to pull up next to him before he opens the kombi ‘s door,” the statement reads.
According to the statement, he then grabs the bag and gets into the white Toyota. Just after driving off, security guards started chasing after the car.
A second incident at Woolworths in Festival Mall has also been reported. More information will follow.
