A British woman was arrested at Miami International Airport after she took a four-year-old boy from his mother and refused to give him back, according to reports.
The young child was in line for a check-in counter with his mother on Tuesday when Alvina Agba, 23, came forward and offered to comfort the boy, a Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office report revealed.
An arrest report shows the boy’s mother allowed Agba to hold her son and she quickly took the boy out of the line and away from his family.
Investigators said Agba sat down on the floor and wrapped her arms and legs around the boy. When the mother asked her to give back her son, she replied, “No, this is my child”.
Naylet Montano, who witnessed the incident, told CBS News Miami: “I ran over to see what was going on. When I got close, I noticed a woman on the floor, strongly gripping the little boy.
"In that moment, I realised the body was in danger. I grabbed him and ran.
“The woman on the ground got up and tried to take the boy back from me. I wouldn't let her.
“I ran behind the counter and crouched down to protect the boy. She tried to get under the counter. But when police got there, she ran away."
Ms Montano said her mother’s instinct kicked in when she saw the boy “in danger”.
Three men stood between Ms Montano and Agba to stop her from taking back the child, the police report said.
Agba then left the area before being taken into custody at Checkpoint 5 in the airport.
She later told police that she had remembered there was a wall with a rainbow on it near where she was standing and thought it would soothe the boy and help calm him down.
She added that she could not remember what happened when the boy’s mother came to get him and added “she only did it because God told her to do it”.
Agba was arrested and has been charged with battery and interference of custody.
