COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Good Samaritan says he called 911 after spotting a small child wandering alone in a Cobb County mall parking lot.
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The incident happened on Monday at Town Center Mall in Kennesaw.
Channel 2’s Audrey Washington spoke with the witness, Winfrid Webb, who says he noticed the young girl walking by herself while her mother was inside the mall.
“She had to be maybe 2 or 3,” Webb said.
Webb recorded cellphone video as he approached the child and tried to stop her from walking into the street.
“Where you going? Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can’t walk in the street,” Webb can be heard saying in the video.
Webb says the child appeared lost and scared.
He says he then walked back to the car he saw the little girl come from and noticed her young brothers inside. According to Webb, the car was running, and there was no adult around.
One of the brothers eventually got out to help.
Webb then called Cobb County police.
“So, I didn’t know. Did someone just abandon them?” Webb said.
Webb’s cellphone video shows officers placing the children’s mother in handcuffs.
He says officers also checked the temperature inside the car because it was warm on Monday.
According to Webb, police told him the mother had gone inside the mall to shop while the children were left in the car.
Webb said about 40 to 45 minutes passed from the time he first noticed the children until officers brought the mother out of the mall.
Channel 2 Action News has filed an open records request for the incident report to learn whether any charges have been filed. Police say they are processing the request.
Webb says he is thankful he was there to help.
“Thank God I wasn’t a bad guy and I was there to help,” Webb said.
Webb says officers told him the children are safe and are now with family members.
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