Woman attempts to kidnap child at Oklahoma courthouse: Deputies

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OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — A frantic scene was caught on camera inside the Oklahoma County Courthouse on Wednesday. Deputies arrested a woman they say tried to kidnap another woman’s child.

Authorities called this a bizarre case, saying it was definitely not something they are accustomed to seeing. Since it happened inside the courthouse, they were able to respond and intervene within moments.

“It was kind of strange because she seemed to be under the impression that the child was her child,” said Aaron Brilbeck with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office.

“We had a mother who was in the courthouse doing the business that she had to do, when a complete stranger walks up to her, grabs her 2-year-old and tries to take off,” Brilbeck added.

Woman attempts to kidnap another mother's child. (Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office.)
Officers in Oklahoma are seen responding to an incident on Wednesday, during which a woman attempted to kidnap a 2-year-old child, deputies say. (Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office.)

Brilbeck told NewsNation affiliate KFOR that the child’s mother held off the suspect until deputies arrived.

“She started making a lot of noise,” said Brilbeck. “She got in the woman’s face, eventually got her daughter back.”

Body camera footage shows the moment officers came in contact with the mom and the suspect.

“I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been for her to have a complete stranger come up and just grab her child,” said Brilbeck.

Multiple deputies are shown responding in the video. But one of the officers, upon seeing the suspect, is heard asking, “Is this Miss French?”

That is because this is not the first time Tatiyana French has had a run-in with the law. An online search of local court records pulls up several criminal cases dating back to 2017.

“She’s no stranger to us,” said Brilbeck. “We’ve dealt with her in the past, unfortunately, and we were able to take her into custody without incident. We are hoping she gets the help she needs.”

French faces several charges, including kidnapping, obstructing an officer, and robbery, for allegedly taking and breaking the mother’s iPad.

No one was hurt in the incident.

Crime

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