Suspect identified after attempted kidnapping at Hamilton school
Witness saves child who was led away from playground at Earl Kitchener Elementary School
Hamilton police have identified the suspect who tried to kidnap a child from a local elementary school last week.
The suspect is in custody on a separate matter.
The incident took place at Earl Kitchener Elementary School last Thursday. A kindergarten student was led away from the playground by a man he didn’t know around noon, according to police. The man walked away from the school with the child, when a witness in the area saw the child crying. The witness stepped in and the man ran off.
The child was shaken but unharmed, police said.
The man has been identified as Dakota Hart, 47, of Hamilton. Hart faces charges of forcibly seizing a person, assault with a weapon and breach probation.
Hart was arrested under the Mental Health Act on a separate matter, police say. He was taken into custody and remains in a secure facility.
He would be arrested once he is released from the facility, according to police.