A 24-year-old man appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Friday after he allegedly tried to grab a young child at a shopping center in Florida on Gauteng’s West Rand the day before.
NewsLiteSA previously reported how a mother, her four-year-old daughter and a friend were sitting at a table in a pizza restaurant in the Goldman Crossing center around 17:00. A man then suddenly storms closer, jumps over a low railing and grabs the child around the neck.
Capt. Gauteng police spokesperson Kay Makhubela said the “unknown man grabbed the child by the neck, as if he wanted to take her”.
A bystander brought the situation under control when he managed to detain the man until the police arrived.
The incident has meanwhile provoked a great deal of speculation.
However, the motive for the attack is unclear at this stage and it appears that the man is not known to the victims.
Makhubela referred further inquiries about the court appearance to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
