A West Virginia woman has been charged with filing a false report after she dishonestly told police that she used a gun to stop a man from abducting her daughter.

Santana Renee Adams, 24, filed a report on Monday that while shopping at the Huntington Mall, a man of Middle-Eastern descent apparently grabbed her 5-year-old daughter by the hair in an attempt to kidnap her. He fled once Adams pulled out a gun, she told cops.

Mohamed Fathy Hussein Zayan, a man who fit Adams’ description, was shortly arrested at the mall’s food court. Zayan, a 54-year-old engineer from Egypt, was visiting the area for work.

Lucky for Zayan, Adams’ story began to crumble. No witnesses had seen the so-called intense attack, and security footage didn’t match her outlandish claims. When questioned, Adams began to change her story.

On Friday, she turned herself in. Her bail was set at $20,000. If convicted, Adams faces up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. It is not apparent why she made up the false abduction.

All the charges against Zayan were dropped. Upon his release from jail, he cried in relief and hugged family members.

“Unfortunately, as false accusations are becoming more prevalent in today’s social media driven society, we are losing our grasp on ‘presumed innocent until proven guilty,’ and Mr. Zayan has been tried around the world by the court of public opinion,” said Zayan’s public defender attorney, Michelle Protzman, in a statement.

With Associated Press