A man has been arrested in connection with snatching a 4-year-old girl as she stood next to her mother inside a store in Victorville, authorities announced Wednesday.

Terry Ransom, 24, of Hesperia was taken into custody Friday on suspicion of kidnapping and child cruelty, according to Mara Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, in Victorville.

Surveillance video from inside the store shows the terrifying moment when the girl was abruptly pulled away.

Balancing another child on one hip, the mother and her younger daughter entered the store in the 15300 block of 7th Street. As the mother waited in line, her daughter played with a candy machine.


Suddenly, the store’s front door is pulled open and a man appears. The man quickly grabbed the girl’s arm and pulls her outside the store.

The girl’s mother immediately started running after the man.

Authorities said Ransom tried to run away with the girl, but lost his grip on her as she fought back and tried to get away.

Several bystanders chased after Ransom as the mother screamed, Rodriguez said. Witnesses told KCBS-TV that bystanders tackled Ransom and held him down.


Shortly thereafter, deputies arrived and arrested him.

“The victim was scared and upset but did not appear to suffer any physical injuries,” Rodriguez said.

Store owner Miguel Macias told the news station the mother said Ransom was watching her before she entered the store.

Surveillance cameras captured a similar attempted kidnapping in Florida last month.


In that incident, video shows a mother fighting off a suspected kidnapper who was dragging her 13-year-old daughter for 15 seconds inside a Dollar General Store in Hernando. The man, identified as Craig Bonello, was arrested outside the store.

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