Police nab suspect in Muni child abduction

San Francisco police arrested a man Friday who they allege briefly abducted a 2-year-old boy from a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus in The City’s Financial District earlier this week.

Police had been looking for the man, identified as 45-year-old Oakland resident Sudesh Singh, since Tuesday, when the abduction occurred, according to police.

Around 10 a.m., a mother and her 2-year-old son boarded a Muni bus in the 600 block of Sansome Street, police said.

While the woman waited for a transfer from the bus driver, Singh quickly entered the bus and forcibly took the boy, according to police. Singh then began to walk away from the bus, heading north on Sansome Street, police said.

The mother began screaming and promptly exited the bus and confronted Singh, who was holding the crying boy, according to police. The mother pulled the child away from Singh and then reentered the bus, police said.

The child appeared to be physically unharmed.

Later that evening, the mother’s sister contacted San Rafael police, who referred her to the San Francisco Police Department, according to police.

Investigators were able to obtain surveillance video of the incident and identified Singh when they learned U.S. Homeland Security Officers had contacted him in the 600 block of Sansome for acting suspiciously, according to police.

Earlier this morning, BART police officers at the San Francisco International Airport BART station recognized Singh from an alert sent out by San Francisco police. An officer detained Singh and contacted the police department, police said.

San Francisco police officers subsequently arrested Singh on suspicion of felony kidnapping and child endangerment. He has been booked into the San Francisco County Jail, according to police.