Masked Woman Tries To Kidnap Toddler In Mountain View: Police

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — Police tracked down and arrested a woman who reportedly tried to kidnap a toddler. Mountain View police worked on the case nonstop through the night following the incident reported at 4 p.m. Wednesday, MVPD officials said in a news release. Officers were told when they responded to the attempted kidnapping that a woman wearing a mask approached a grandmother, her daughter and her grandchild and told them she was there to take the toddler, MVPD Spokeswoman Katie Nelson said.

As the masked woman reached for the baby the grandmother intervened but was hit on the head by the suspect, leaving the grandmother injured, Nelson said.

Police were told the suspect then threatened the child’s mother before driving away in a Toyota Camry.

"The child was not taken, nor was the toddler harmed in the attempted kidnapping," Nelson said. "The child’s mother was also not injured. It does not appear that the suspect and the victims knew one another."

Officers searched the neighborhood for the suspect but did not immediately locate her.

Using "extremely detailed descriptions of both the suspect and her vehicle," Nelson said the suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Schauntel Gomez, was arrested within hours.

Patrol officers spotted the suspect vehicle at about 2 a.m. Thursday in the Shell gas station parking lot at Rengstorff Avenue and Central Expressway.

Nelson said the officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop and detained Gomez, a transient, without incident.

Inside Gomez's car, Nelson said, was a white mask consistent with the one the victims described her wearing when she attempted to take the child.

Officers also found drug paraphernalia and mail and packages from the area in her car, Nelson alleged.

Gomez was booked into a Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of attempted kidnapping, criminal threats, battery and possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was being held in lieu of $81,000 Friday at Elmwood Women's Correctional facility, records showed.

"We were moments away from a potential tragedy involving an innocent child, and an at-large suspect capable such a heinous act was very concerning," said Mountain View police Chief Max Bosel. "I’m incredibly thankful that the child was not hurt, that the mother quickly notified us, and I am very proud of the teamwork and tenacity of Mountain View’s patrol officers and detectives that led to this case being resolved within hours of its report."

Photo courtesy Mountain View Police Department