Man who picked up toddler in Halifax ‘suspicious incident’ turns out to be Good Samaritan

Halifax police say a suspicious incident where a man picked up a toddler in a parking lot was actually a case of a Good Samaritan stepping in.

READ MORE: Halifax police looking to speak with man in relation to suspicious incident

On Aug. 26, a mother reported to Halifax Regional Police that she had been at the Chain Lake Drive Walmart parking lot loading items in her car when she turned around and saw a man holding her two-year-old son, who had been seated in the shopping cart.

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Police issued a news release with the man’s description, and officers have since identified the man.

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Through the investigation, police say it turns out the man was walking through the parking lot when he saw the child standing on the seat of the cart. Fearing for the child’s safety, he says he picked up the boy and handed him back to his mother.

In the police’s initial release, they noted the mother did the right thing by reporting the matter to police and reminded citizens to call 911 immediately in similar circumstances.