KENNESAW, Ga. – The police report revealed the horrifying moments when an 11-year-old girl was attacked at a Cobb County mall.
Around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, police were called to the Town Center Mall food court after receiving 911 calls that a man attacked a young girl in the women’s bathroom.
The father told police he was waiting down the hall for his daughter after she went into the women’s restroom. He said a few minutes later he heard a loud scream.
"Then, I became a little bit worried and a little bit anxious with what was going on," he told 11Alive.
That's when he and saw his daughter run out of the bathroom to him. She told him a man was in the bathroom and it looked like he had a knife. The girl then pointed out the suspect, 26-year-old Danzell Mitchell, to her father.
"'Dad, that's him'," the father recounted. "All I knew that my daughter was distraught."
Police stated in the report that the father approached Mitchell and asked him if he was in the bathroom or had done something to his daughter.
"I said, 'Sir! Excuse me. Excuse me!' and immediately he said, 'I did nothing wrong'," the father said.
The father said when he pressed more, Mitchell struggled and attempted to flee.
"I started running after him," he said.
That’s when other shoppers stepped in to restrain him until mall security arrived. But the father told 11Alive it appeared Mitchell was looking past the group at someone else. That's when the father said he locked eyes with a woman.
Police spoke to Mitchell who told them he was never in the women’s restroom and stated, “it must have been another black male,” according to the report.
After being detained, police found a kitchen knife with a silver blade and black handle in Mitchell’s pocket.
Mitchell told police he keeps the knife in his pocket for protection and clarified again to police he never took the knife out.
When police spoke to the father and daughter, the 11-year-old stated when she came out of the bathroom stall, there was a black male standing there with “a basic silver kitchen knife in his hand.”
She told police the man then wrapped his arm around her and said, "Shush. Be quiet." That’s when she screamed, pushed the man away and ran out to her father, the report stated.
After another interview, Mitchell was charged with kidnapping. He had his first court appearance on Wednesday and no bond was issued.
Police believe Mitchell was communicating with that woman, who they believe to be of Middle Eastern descent in her 30s, however, they have no more details on who she may be.
MORE | Search continues for second suspect in 11-year-old's attempted kidnapping at Town Center Mall
Investigators are requesting that any witnesses who may have taken videos, photos, or who have any information about the incident contact the Crimes Against Children unit at 770-801-3487 or by emailing CobbSVU@cobbcounty.org.
