COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police are investigating after an 11-year-old girl said a man with a knife attacked her in a mall restroom.
Danzell Mitchell, 26, was arrested at the scene. He faces charges of aggravated assault, attempted kidnapping and first-degree cruelty to children.
He has a criminal history, according to police.
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Around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, police said an 11-year old girl went inside the women's restroom at the food court inside Town Center Mall.
Her father waited for her outside the restroom.
Police said when the girl left a restroom stall, a man left a different stall across from her, at the same time.
From there, police said the man grabbed the girl and put a knife to her throat.
Police said the girl screamed, broke free, and ran to her father.
The 11-year old pointed the man out to her father, and they got into a fight.
Two other shoppers jumped in and wrestled the man down.
Police said as they had Mitchell pinned and were waiting for officers to arrive, Mitchell appeared distracted.
“The father looked backwards to see why this guy was distracted. In doing so, he saw a female communicating with this man,” Cobb County Deputy Chief Stuart Vanhoozer said.
Shoppers at Town Center Mall said they were disgusted.
"There’s evil in the world and we don’t realize it sometimes," said Emily Nickelson.
Police say Mitchell communicated non-verbally with a woman in the crowd. Investigators are calling her a person of interest.
When police arrived, that female was no longer present. She had left before police arrived.
We're told when investigators questioned Mitchell, he didn’t reveal a motive.
"At this point, we don’t have any indication that I’m aware of, that this family was individually targeted," Vanhoozer said.
Cox Media Group
