DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A woman was arrested Tuesday after police said she tried to kidnap a 6-year-old girl walking along a Daytona Beach road this weekend.
The woman, later identified as 30-year-old Salimah McCann, was initially arrested on unrelated charges, Daytona Beach police said in a brief statement on Tuesday.
McCann, who is being held without bond, now faces charges for attempted kidnapping and battery, in addition to the initial charges.
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According to a police news release Monday, the girl and her mother were walking hand-in-hand on a sidewalk in the 700 block of Halifax Avenue around 11:45 a.m. when the child was “grabbed by an unknown party.”
Police said the culprit was not able to remove the child from her mother’s grip and ran away.
“From what I understand, the offender tried to karate chop them while they were holding hands,” said Kelly Granger, the father of the girl. “She had just lost her tooth. She fell down to the ground, kicked the offender and she departed.”
According to the news release, the culprit was described as a lighter-skinned black woman with a skinny build, about 25-35 yeas old, 5 feet, 6 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches tall, with short black hair in a bun. She was wearing a gray T-shirt and a long red skirt.
Police said the child was not injured and was able to stay with her mother during the attempted kidnapping.
Because of the incident, Our Lady of Lourdes and Lourdes Academy, a church and private school on Halifax Avenue, sent out a notification to parents advising them to not allow children to walk home alone that read in part:
“Given this situation, I would like to ask all parents/guardians to drop off and pick up their children each day from school. In situations where a child must walk home, I encourage you to please contact the School Office. It is my hope that the diligent work of the Daytona Beach Police Department’s investigation will help ensure this will not happen again. However, in doing our part to ensure the safety of all students, it is important for our school families to be aware of this incident.”
Lourdes Academy
“Very concerning,” said Sasha Fredie, who was picking up a child at the school. “I don’t let her go anywhere without me being right there with her.”
McCann faces charges for attempted kidnapping, battery, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer without violence, violation of an injunction for domestic violence and violation of pretrial release.
She is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
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