Shocking video footage has emerged of the moment a toddler was snatched by a homeless man inside a supermarket – leaving the child’s mom screaming for help.
The terrifying CCTV shows the 18-month-old girl being grabbed by a Romanian man in front of her horrified parents at a store in Italy, The Sun reports.
The man lunged for the youngster as he entered the shop, while the family was leaving through the automatic doors of the Uscita supermarket in Bergamo.
Seconds later, the suspect, wearing a black hoodie and green pants, takes hold of the young girl.
At one point, the toddler is pulled in both directions by both her mom and the man, who both hold on to her arms and legs.
The bub’s shocked father then immediately jolts away from the trolley he is pushing, before attempting to intervene.
As the mom battled to hold onto her child, the man continued to yank on her, resulting in the little girl’s femur getting broken, The Telegraph reports.
Mortified bystanders were quick to jump in to help retrieve the child from the man, while another girl with black hair is seen looking on in confusion as the terrifying altercation unfolds before her eyes in mere seconds.
Moments later, security guards also intervened in the scuffle to help hold down the brazen man until the police arrived.
The alleged kidnapper, a 47-year-old homeless Romanian man, was then arrested by local Italian police, who remanded him in custody.
He has since been charged with aggravated kidnapping of a child under 14 and aggravated assault.
The child was taken to the hospital shortly after the dramatic scuffle and was treated for her fractured femur. She’s now recovering at home with her parents.
“A survival instinct kicked in,” the father of the toddler, named as Matteo, told Italian TV.
“To see your daughter in danger is dreadful. The reaction was immediate. You don’t think, you just act.”
The man’s motive for allegedly trying to grab the child was not clear, police said. He is currently in custody awaiting questioning.
Police have since released the dramatic footage, prompting a huge response on social media, with many labelling the clip “shocking” and sending best wishes to the family.
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