Police in Houston have arrested and charged a teenager who is alleged to have stolen an iPad from a two-year-old boy in a shopping mall carpark.

The 16-year-old was caught on CCTV walking up to several small children standing by their mother’s car before knocking the young boy to the ground as he snatched the iPad away from him.

The suspect then fled the scene, leaving the boy with minor injuries.

The boy’s distraught mother has criticised the alleged thief, saying that “they didn’t have to touch him. He’s two. Who steals from a two-year-old? Get a job.”

Houston police investigator Ken Nealy called the teenager “the biggest thug I’ve ever seen”.

KPRC 2 News in Houston has reported that police caught up with the suspect earlier in the week after his parents turned him in, having recognised him during a news bulletin.

He has since been charged with robbery.

A local Houston cleaning company has since bought the young child a brand new iPad, much to the delight of his mother.