A suspect in an attempted abduction of a four-year-old girl tried to bite two police officers and spat at them during his arrest on Sunday, Winnipeg police said Monday.

The man also allegedly committed an indecent act while in police custody, police said.

Police arrested a 26-year-old man in the West End around 5 p.m. Sunday.

On Thursday, police said a mother and her four-year-old daughter were unlocking their front door on McKenzie Street in Winnipeg's North End when a man came up behind them demanding to get inside.

When the mother said no, the man grabbed the girl.

Tried to bite her

​Const. Jay Murray said the man grabbed the girl and also tried to bite her.

The mother told CBC she had a tug-of-war with the man and finally got her daughter back, then ran for help. The woman was bitten by a neighbour's dog and suffered a minor injury.

Murray said police don't know what motivated the attack, calling it "random" and saying the man did not know the woman or the girl.

"It's a terrifying incident and it's definitely one that kept us scratching our heads," he said.

Murray said police received information from the public within two hours of putting out a call for help, which gave them an idea of where the suspect might be.

Indecent act at police HQ

Officers located the suspect in the 700 block of Toronto Street. While taking the suspect into custody, Murray said the suspect tried to bite two officers and was spitting at them at them. Once they took him to police headquarters, Murray said the man committed an indecent act.

"It's probably something a defence lawyer or a Crown attorney wouldn't want to watch," Murray said. So without going beyond that, it's something he shouldn't have done and has been charged as a result of that."

The man is charged with numerous offences, including abduction of a person under 14 years old, sexual assault, sexual interference, assault causing bodily harm, two counts of assaulting a police officer, committing an indecent act, and failing to comply with a probation order.