Man assaulted girl, woman at South China mall

A man was taken into custody after he grabbed a 12-year-old girl in the middle of a crowded South China shopping mall where he also assaulted another woman.

The suspect, who was not identified, faces sexual assault charges for the two incidents on May 12 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, police said.

Surveillance video shows the shocking moment the suspect reaches across a crowd and lurches for the victim, Xiaoli (pseudonym), as she casually window shops with her mother and brother.

“He just showed up out of nowhere and pulled me toward a staircase,” Xiaoli told Shenzhen TV.

“I didn’t know what was happening. I only knew that he was up to something bad,” she added.

Xiaoli resisted as the man attempted to drag her through a fire exit.

“I hooked the door with my foot to not be dragged away, but my mother could not stop him,” Xiaoli said.

A male witness managed to race over and free Xiaoli from the grip of the suspect, who then fled the scene.

According to thepaper. cn, the suspect had similarly attacked another woman at the shopping mall’s movie theater less than 20 minutes before the incident.

Security guards managed to detain the suspect on the second floor.

He is now in custody and police are investigating.