Wheaton Mother Stops Her Daughter's Kidnapping in Front Yard: Police

Image: Kabir K. Salami (MCPD)

WHEATON, MD — A Wheaton woman fought off a man who tried to kidnap her 6-year-old daughter on Tuesday night, and Montgomery County Police say they apprehended the man and put him behind bars.

The suspect is Kabir K. Salami, 20, of an unconfirmed address, according to a county police report. Salami has been charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of false imprisonment and one count of second-degree assault, and he's being held without bond at the county jail.

The police did not release the name of the kidnapping victim or her mother.

Officers responded at about 8:06 p.m. Tuesday to the report of the kidnapping in the 11400 block of Monterrey Drive in Wheaton, the police said. The incident occurred at about 7:50 p.m., as the girl was playing in the fenced area of the home's front yard while her mother watched.

A suspect, later identified as Salami, opened a gate and entered the yard, the police said. The suspect grabbed the 6-year-old and tried to carry her out of the yard.

But the girl’s mother saw the whole thing and placed herself between the suspect and the gate. "The mother was able to free her daughter from Salami’s grasp," the police said.

The kidnapping suspect fled from the yard when the victim and her mother ran inside the home to call 911. He returned a few minutes later and pounded his fists on the home's front door before fleeing once again, the police said.

The responding officers located Salami in the 11200 block of Viers Mill Road, where he was identified as the kidnapping suspect. the police said. He was arrested, and later told officers that he came back to the residence to talk to the 6-year-old girl and give her a hug.