He only wanted a hug. The man who gave a 12-year-old boy a scare with an unwanted bear hug in the restroom of a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant in South San Francisco on Monday was not a kidnapper, police said Thursday.
“There was no merit to the attempted kidnapping, as the ‘suspect’ was mentally challenged and was trying to be friendly by giving the juvenile a hug,” police said in a statement.
Police were searching for the man after the child screamed and ran out of the bathroom at the El Camino Real eatery about 3:30 p.m. Monday.
As the boy was using the hand dryer, police said, a man wearing a black beret and a green military-style jacket exited a bathroom stall and stared at the youngster for “several seconds.”
Then suddenly, the man grabbed the boy and lifted him into the air. The man let go after the boy screamed, police said.
The boy ran to his father, who was waiting outside in a car.
A citizen who read about the alleged attempted kidnapping tipped off police to the man’s whereabouts. When police located him, they determined he meant no harm to the boy.
The search for an attempted kidnapper who bear hugged a boy in a fast-food bathroom ended when the suspect was discovered to be mentally challenged and wasn't intending to harm the child, but just give a hug.
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Boy escapes creep's grasp in South San Francisco McDonald's
A 12-year-old boy escaped a possible kidnapper Saturday while in the bathroom of a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant in South San Francisco.
The youngster, who is from Alameda, told police he was accosted by a creep wearing a black beret and a green military-style jacket while inside the El Camino Real eatery about 3:30 p.m. Read More
