OCOEE, Fla. — A man ambushed a woman outside the West Oaks Mall and threatened her and her child with a stun gun, Ocoee police said on Wednesday.
Police said they are hoping the mall's surveillance cameras can help them find the man.
"You see the suspect following the victim to her car in the parking lot," said Det. Sgt. Brian Satterlee of the Ocoee Police Department.
Ocoee police said the man came out of nowhere and approached the mother and child with a stun gun on Tuesday outside the West Oaks Mall in broad daylight.
The woman told police the incident happened in the parking lot of the JC Penney store as she was leaving the mall.
"(He) said to her 'Go ahead and put your kid in the car' and she's like 'Why?' and he took out a small stun gun or Taser and made the noise with it. The tick, tick noise," said Satterlee.
When the woman screamed for help, the man ran away before using the device.
"Especially with a child. I have two children of my own and I just can't imagine. It's disgusting," said eyewitness Yaslyn Maldonado.
"That's just scary. You know. Even as a male, I'm scared," said Noah Garcia. "If they do it to a woman, who else would they do it to?"
Police don't know what the man's intentions were, but whatever the motive, they said they want the man caught.
"A black male, wearing white pants, white shirt with blue writing," said Satterlee. "After our area canvas, we had a witness say she saw a male fitting that description running on the north side of jcpenny getting into a tan ford explorer, or similar vehicle. It's really concerning that I don't know what he's up to and he's still out there."
Mall security patrols have increased and police said they have a number of security cameras in the area to review for evidence in the case.
WFTV
