A FATHER who helped secure the suspect in an alleged child abduction at Lutwyche Shopping Centre has called for recognition of an unnamed security guard who helped pin down the suspect.

Windsor resident David Carter said he had had his 10 month old toddler in a shopping trolley full of groceries and was at Bakers Delight buying bread when he saw a man running with a child under his arm near Snap Fitness.

“I heard a lady scream and realised it was an abduction and asked a woman next to me to look after my baby and ran off at the same time as another guy,” he said.

“The other guy tackled him as he reached the loading dock and the security guard patrolling outside helped him and they brought him back into the corridor and pinned him against the wall and I helped get him on the ground,” he said.

Other people then arrived and helped restrain the man until police arrived.

The security guard was not at work or available for comment today.

Mr Carter said he did not see himself as a hero but acted as a parent.

“I’m a father of seven-year-old, three-year-old and 10-month-old daughters, and I’d expect another father to help."

He said the man who tackled the suspect was also a father.

“He said he had a couple of kids and couldn’t let it happen either."

Mr Carter said it was instinct which had spurred him to help.

“Once (the suspect) was outside by himself who knows what he was capable of or carrying with him”.

Earlier, it was reported a man accused of trying to abduct a toddler at a shopping centre was released from prison just two days before the incident.

Daniel Carl Austin, 29, faced court on Friday charged with child abduction after he allegedly snatched a three-year-old boy from his mother at a north Brisbane shopping centre yesterday.



Bystanders alerted by the woman's screams chased a man through Lutwyche Shopping Centre and held him until police arrived.



The toddler was returned to his mother.



It's understood Austin was released from prison on Tuesday after serving 55 days for unrelated charges.



He was sentenced to three months' prison on Tuesday over the charges but was released on immediate parole after having served 55 days in pre-sentence custody.



Austin didn't apply for bail when he appeared in the dock of the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday and will return to prison with his parole revoked.



His case was adjourned until June 27, when it's expected he'll appear via video link from jail.

PREVIOUSLY: Two men have saved a toddler from abduction in a dramatic chase after the boy was snatched from his mother's side in the middle of a suburban shopping centre.

The men gave chase after the boy's mother let out a piercing scream in the heart of busy Lutwyche City shopping centre, in Brisbane's inner-north.

The pair chased the alleged offender for about 30m before holding him in a citizens' arrest, pinning him to the ground until police arrived. Police believe the stunning daylight incident was random.

The little boy was dropped to the ground after the alleged offender realised he was cornered in an alley, witnesses claimed.

The witnesses said the man showed no emotion and said nothing until police arrived.

A 29-year-old man was last night charged with one count of child abduction.

Witnesses told The Courier-Mail the little boy, 3, had been sitting with his mother and sibling at a cafe in the centre when the man allegedly snatched the child.

"The mother was in shock and just yelling 'help, help, help can you get my child'," store owner Maree Deflavis said. "They were sitting at the table and the child was just snatched out of the mother's hands."

Simon Brooks, 45, was at the same cafe as the family and also gave chase.

"I thought it was a bag snatch and then looked closer to me and saw people in distress so I grabbed my wallet and ran after him," he said.

Mr Brooks said the men bolted out the centre's fire exit and when he caught up to them they had cornered the man and were holding him down, waiting for police. Witnesses said the man dropped the child before he ran through the exit.

"(A witness) said to me that she saw him throw the child to the floor just basically outside the front of the Aldi shops He didn't just put the child down he just threw the child down and in her words, she heard a crack I just feel a bit sick about that side of things," Mr Brooks said.

Mr Brooks said the tearful mother was comforted by bystanders until police arrived.

"It's a very good sign that people didn't just stand around idly by and that when it happened they acted quickly. We need to take our hats off to that these people, the sense of community that spurred these people into action I think that's something to be proud of," Mr Brooks said.

The boy and the mother were checked by ambulance officers at the scene.

He told how the alleged offender stayed quiet until police arrived.

"He was actually very quiet He didn't say a word until much after when the police were there ... and there were a few of us standing around and he just said something obscene and that was it."

The man is expected to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today. The Child Protection Investigation Unit is investigating.