UPDATE: Police say they questioned the woman accused in the attack, and she will not face charges. Read more here: https://www.wbrz.com/news/woman-accused-of-trying-to-snatch-baby-at-playground-won-t-face-charges-police-say

------

BATON ROUGE - A mother described the harrowing moment a stranger tried to abduct her 18-month-old in broad daylight, right in front of her.

"It was such a snap-second change. I mean, she went from, 'Hey, how are you doing?' and so nice and 'Hey sweetie,' and being a normal, nice person to the craziest look on her face," the mother said.

The mother asked WBRZ not to identify her or her daughter by name but wanted to tell her story.

On Saturday morning, in the Webb Park neighborhood, the mother and daughter were having fun at the park playground like usual. There was no one else around until a woman approached the playground from the club house area.

"She waved at me and said, 'How have you been?'"

The mother says she didn't recognize the woman but thought she could be one of the neighborhood nannies. Not wanting to be rude, she responded.

"I was like, 'Good, how have you been?' And then she was like, 'Aww, can I say hi to my baby?'"

She says that's when things drastically changed.

"She kind of bent down and she was like, 'Hey sweetie. What do you have there?' All of the sudden, the woman grabbed her by the arm really hard."

"And she just looked at me with this horrible look on her face and was like, 'This is my baby! Where did you get my baby? Why do you have my baby?'"

Panicked, the mother says she immediately grabbed her daughter back from the woman and asked her to leave. The woman did not listen and threatened to call the police herself.

"She said, 'I have DNA swabs in my bag. We can swab her right here and see who she belongs to."'

As the mother got on her phone to call for help, the woman started to walk away. The mother and her daughter got home safely.

BREC said there are no security cameras pointed toward the playground, but the mother is in the process of getting potential video from neighbors. She says she wants the woman caught and for her to get the help she needs.

The woman was described as an older African-American with short, straight hair, wearing a bright pink shirt and green shorts. The mother said she was carrying a big white purse.