Brazen attempt at kidnapping toddler on Muni ends with man in jail

BART trains into San Francisco delayed due to police activity. BART trains into San Francisco delayed due to police activity. Photo: Bill Hutchinson Photo: Bill Hutchinson Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Brazen attempt at kidnapping toddler on Muni ends with man in jail 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A man was in custody Friday after he allegedly hopped on a Muni bus on Sansome Street and brazenly snatched a 2-year-old boy from his mother, police said.

Just as quickly, the mother took her child back.

Officers arrested Sudesh Singh, 45, of Oakland on suspicion of felony kidnapping and child endangerment Friday after the Tuesday morning abduction attempt.

Around 10 a.m., the woman and her son had just boarded a bus on the 600 block of Sansome Street and were waiting for a transfer slip from the driver when Singh quickly walked on and took the child, who was standing next to his mother.

Singh started to walk with the crying boy north on Sansome, when the 2-year-old’s screaming mother left the bus and pulled the child away from him, police said. She and her son, who did not appear hurt, then reboarded the bus.

The man was a stranger to both victims, police said.

The woman’s sister told San Rafael police about the abduction later that evening, and was referred to San Francisco police officers. Investigators in the Special Victims Unit gathered video footage from the incident and identified Singh as a suspect.

They learned Singh had been detained on the same street earlier by officers from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for “acting suspiciously,” police said.

Officers sent out a crime alert on Singh to local law enforcement, allowing BART police officers to recognize him at the San Francisco International Airport BART station Friday, police said. He was detained, then arrested by San Francisco police.

Singh was booked into the San Francisco County jail.

The investigation is ongoing, and officers asked anyone with more knowledge to call the Special Victims Unit at (415) 558-5500, the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444, or send texts to TIP411, beginning the message with “SFPD.”

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno