Police seek suspect after attempted kidnapping caught on camera: "He was trying to drag her"



IRVINE, California -- Police in California are seeking a suspect accused in an attempted kidnapping at a maternity and baby boutique. They've released surveillance video in an effort to identify him.

According to KTLA, it happened Saturday, June 17th around 7:30 p.m. at the Mon Beau Bebe store in Woodbury Town Center in Irvine, CA.

A female employee was working alone when the man entered the store, according to an Irvine Police Department news release. The two appeared to be conversing, when the woman began walking away from the suspect. He then proceeded to grab her by the hair, surveillance video shows.

Holding tight to her long ponytail, the man violently attempted to drag the woman into a storage room as she tried to fight him off, according to the surveillance footage.

The woman then told him the store was monitored by surveillance cameras. That's when the suspect released her, and subsequently ran out of the shop.

“We can’t speculate as to what his intent was, but he was trying to drag her against her will into that storage room," said Kim Mohr, an Irvine police spokeswoman. "So that’s why we are calling it an attempted kidnapping, because he was trying to forcibly remove her from one place to another.”

He is described by police as an Asian man in his 40s, with medium height and build, the release stated. The man was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, plaid shorts, tennis shoes and glasses at the time.