The Surrey Police Service (SPS) says a 22-year-old man has been charged in connection with an attempted child abduction over the weekend.
Sgt. Ali Gailus tells 1130 NewsRadio officers were called to the area of 136A Street and 81 Avenue shortly after 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
“A child who was outside playing in a driveway was allegedly approached by a stranger and physically picked up,” Gailus said.
“Bystanders saw the incident, intervened, causing the stranger to put the child down and leave the area.”
She says the bystanders were able to detain the man until police arrived and took him into custody.
The suspect has been charged with one count of abduction of a person under 14 years of age and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon, Gailus says.
He remains in custody.
The child was uninjured, police say.
Gailus has some advice for parents to help keep their children safe.
“Make sure you know where your kids are at all times,” she said.
“And just speaking, having open conversations with your kids about talking with strangers and when it’s a young three, four, five years old, they don’t have the experience and some of the abilities that an eight, nine, 10, or 11 year old would have.”