Update: Mother Recants

Most of the charges against the man are expected to be dropped after the woman recanted her story that the man tried to abduct her child at the Huntington Mall, according to an update posted by wsaz.com:

In her original story, the mom told police the suspect "grabbed the child by the hair and attempted to pull her away," and then the little girl "dropped to the floor with the male still pulling her away."

Later, the woman told investigators that the whole situation could have been a "cultural misunderstanding" and that the man may have just been patting her daughter on the head.

Investigators say it's possible that Zayan could still face a battery charge. They say it's not clear if the woman will face any charges. The Barboursville Police chief said that's for the prosecutor to determine.(source)

That's quite a mistake for the story to go from "dragging her off by the hair" to "he was just patting her on the head."

***Original Report

A woman and her daughter were shopping at a mall in West Virginia when things took a terrible turn. And if the mother had not been armed and willing to use her firearm, there's no telling how badly this story would have ended.

Here's what happened.

Who would think that Old Navy would be a place that you need to be armed?

A mother from West Virginia just made a very good case for carrying everywhere, 24-7.

She was shopping at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville, a small town in West Virginia with a population of about 4000 people. Suddenly, a man grabbed her five-year-old daughter by the hair and began dragging her off.

According to the criminal complaint, a mother was shopping with her daughter in the Old Navy store a little after 6 p.m. when the suspect approached them.

The complaint says the suspect "grabbed the child by the hair and attempted to pull her away," and then the little girl "dropped to the floor with the male still pulling her away."

Police say the mother then pulled out a handgun and told the suspect to let go of the child. The mother told police the man then let go of the girl and ran out of the store into the mall. (source)

This story would probably not have ended with the suspect fleeing had the woman not been armed. It's yet another shining example of a woman defending herself and someone else with a gun. Here's an article I wrote a while back with my own experience protecting my child with a gun.

The mom identified the suspect to police.

In the Huntington Mall case, the police were able to arrest the suspect. After the mother scared off the would-be kidnapper, she reported the incident to mall security and the local police. They found him walking near the food court.