money Update: Police say would-be Daytona kidnapper was a veteran with mental health issues
DAYTONA BEACH — A Daytona Beach woman accused of trying to take another woman's daughter on Mother's Day told police she was upset and depressed as she no longer had custody of her own child, Chief Jakari Young said.
Salimah McCann, 30, told police she had no intention of actually taking the child, Young said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
"She was very upset by seeing that mother and daughter walking together and that triggered something inside of her to where she wanted to separate the two of them," Young said.
McCann was arrested on unrelated charges Monday night and booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail where she was being held Wednesday without bail, records show.
Young said McCann, a military veteran suffering from mental health issues, is charged with attempted kidnapping and felony battery in connection to the Mother's Day incident.
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What happened on Mother's Day?
Police said a woman and her 6-year-old daughter were walking home from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Sunday when McCann approached them about noon in the 700 block of North Halifax Avenue, a few blocks south of the church.
The woman and her child were holding hands as they walked south on the sidewalk; McCann was walking in their direction on the same sidewalk, according to a police report. The woman and her child tried to step out of McCann's way twice, but the suspect positioned herself in front of the mother and child both times before grabbing the girl and trying to pull her away.
The child fell down after trying to kick McCann who subsequently left the scene having been unable to loosen the mother's grip on the girl, according to the charging affidavit.
Suspect says she wasn't in 'right head space'
McCann told police she was walking to her ex-boyfriend's apartment in the 700 block of North Halifax Avenue shortly before noon Sunday, according to the affidavit.
She said she wasn't in the right head space and was feeling angry at times, even wanting to strike a male with whom she crossed paths on the bridge.
McCann said she decided to stick her hand out for a high-five, which was reciprocated. She told police it made her feel happy because it reminded her of the high-fives she used to receive from her son.
As she continued walking, McCann saw a woman and her daughter, who were wearing matching dresses, holding hands as they walked, which made her miss her son more and she began to feel angry and jealous.
McCann said she tried to separate the mother and child because she wanted the woman "to feel a separation from her child."
After her attempts failed and she noticed the girl looking scared, McCann told police she left and headed for her ex-boyfriend's apartment to change her clothes and get her mind right.
Jailed on unrelated charges
During their investigation, police identified McCann and learned she was already in the Volusia County Branch Jail.
McCann was arrested and booked at about 11 p.m. Monday on the following charges, stemming from a fight with her ex-boyfriend, according to court records:
Battery on a law enforcement officer
Battery
Resisting an officer without violence
Violation of an injunction for protection against domestic violence
Violation of pretrial release (misdemeanor)
Young said an arson charge from a few years ago was dropped when McCann was deemed mentally unable to stand trial.
"We're dealing with a mentally ill suspect, who is now in custody, so I don't stand here and make any excuses for her actions, but her history is what it is," Young said.
The chief said he believes "her actions and the bulk of her arrests are due to her mental status and her being off of her medication."
Young said he doesn't know what kind of other mental health services McCann, who is "basically homeless," is receiving.
"If this were a parent who was armed, they probably would've shot and killed her for what she did, so for her own safety, something needs to happen," Young said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Update: Police say would-be Mother's Day kidnapper was a troubled vet
