SAINT-CONSTANT – Families in St-Constant, a city along the South Shore of Montreal, are reeling after an attempted kidnapping, just steps away from their homes.
“It’s a place where kids have fun and play, so we never paid attention to what could happen in a park,” said Daniel Brault, who lives in the area.
“It’s usually a safe neighbourhood.”
The incident happened around 4 p.m. Wednesday near Levasseur Park.
Apparently, a man riding a bike approached a two-year-old girl as she walked with her mother.
“It’s scary. I mean, we have a lot of kids around here. I have a two-year-old myself,” said Patrice Langevin, who lives nearby.
“It’s just one of those places where we have tons of kids in the park all the time and obviously, to think that something like this could happen, it rattles you.”
Quebec provincial police investigators said the man then grabbed the toddler, put her on his shoulder and began biking away down Monchamps Boulevard.
In a panic, the girl’s mother screamed for help.
A passerby stepped in to help and managed to take a hold of the young girl before the man took off.
“He can’t live too far from here so we’re going to be paying attention close now for the next few weeks,” said Brault.
Police are describing the suspect as a smoker, about 35-years-old, 6 feet tall and roughly 230 pounds.
Bald, with a goatee, he was wearing an orange short-sleeved shirt with long pants and sneakers.
“We just have to be careful. But the problem is we usually have strangers come up to us all the time and we speak to them. They play with our daughter and we play with their kids,” said Langevin.
“Now, you’re not so sure anymore all of a sudden.”
Police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 1 800 659 4264.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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