Man charged in alleged child abduction attempt at Marshalls store in Scarborough

A 39-year-old man has been arrested following an alleged attempt to abduct a child at a Marshalls location in Scarborough on Wednesday.

Toronto police were called to the store near Warden Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East at around 1:30 p.m..

According to the police, a mother was shopping with three children when one of the kids, a four-year-old girl, was approached by a man who tried to speak with her.

She screamed and ran away, police said, and the girl’s mother confronted him.

The man, however, was waiting out front as the family was leaving the store and they had security personnel accompany them to their car.

Then, according to police, the man “ran towards the family and attempted to grab the girl from her mother’s arms.”

A struggle followed, and the suspect ran away but was arrested nearby.

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Police said the child was not injured.

Tyrone Bartley of Pickering has been charged with abduction of persons under 14, assault and mischief under $5,000.

He was expected in court on Thursday.