Woman tries to take child from mom’s arms and assaults parents at NC park, police say

People at a popular North Carolina park stepped in to keep a child from being kidnapped last week, police say.

The incident happened at Pack Square Park in Asheville on Friday, according to the Asheville Police Department. The park is popular among families and is in the center of the city, according to Explore Asheville.

Police responded to an attempted kidnapping call at the park, and were told that a woman, Shannon Adams, had tried to take a child from the mother’s arms and then assaulted both parents as they “struggled to maintain hold of the child,” police said Tuesday.

People who witnessed the incident stepped in and helped the parents, police said.

Adams was arrested the same day as the incident, Aug. 9, and was charged with two counts of simple assault, police said. She was later charged with assault on a child under 12, according to police.

She won’t face kidnapping charges because the magistrate didn’t “find enough elements to support a charge,” according to police.

Information about the child and the parents has not been released.