A 47-year-old Romanian man attempted to kidnap a toddler in an Italian supermarket, but the mother’s quick intervention prevented the abduction.
Dramatic Incident in Bergamo Store
In one of the stores of the popular Esselunga network in the Italian city of Bergamo, an attempt was made to kidnap a 1.5-year-old girl. Surveillance footage captured the moment when a 47-year-old Romanian citizen grabbed the child by the legs and tried to pull her from her mother’s arms. The mother reacted immediately and prevented the man from escaping. During the struggle, the girl broke her leg.
Father’s Account
“It was a fraction of a second. The store was full of people and I absolutely did not expect something like this. For me, that man was simply crouching to tie his shoelaces, and he picked up my child,” said the girl’s father, quoted by the Italian news agency Ansa. He added that he and his wife initially did not realize the seriousness of the situation.
Arrest and Charges
The suspect has been taken into custody and charged with attempted kidnapping of a minor and causing bodily harm. “This event showed that the security system works, mainly thanks to the many people who were witnesses and intervened, defending the girl and her mother,” said Marco Cadeddu, head of the police unit in Bergamo. He added that “police intervention was immediate.”
Official Response
The mayor of Bergamo, Elena Carnevali, also commented on the incident, describing it as “extremely serious.” She expressed her “sincerest solidarity with the affected girl and her family” and appealed to the justice system to take actions that “prevent similar crimes from happening again.”
