Florence, South Carolina – A man from Florence is in jail after an incident at a Walmart on Christmas Eve that police say included a young child in a bathroom.
Authorities said the alleged attack happened at the Walmart on South Irby Street, where a 9-year-old child had gone into a bathroom stall. The arrest records say that the boy was alone in the stall when a man named Kyron Colon, 40, came up and tried to open the door. He couldn’t get in since the stall was locked.
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Investigators said things got worse just a few minutes later. Colon stepped into a neighboring stall and reached behind the partition, according to arrest warrants. Then, he allegedly grabbed the child’s leg and pulled it. The youngster started yelling for help, which got people’s attention inside the bathroom.
According to the police, the male left the area right away when the child began to shout. The investigation relied heavily on video from the store’s security cameras. Detectives watched video that showed Colon leaving the store just after the incident, which helped them find and identify him.
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Colon was detained by the Florence Police on Wednesday and accused with a number of crimes, such as kidnapping, first-degree assault and battery, and peeping tom. Investigators haven’t said anything else about whether the child knew the suspect or if there were other individuals in the bathroom at the time.
The child’s family was notified, and police say the boy was not seriously injured. Officers emphasized that the investigation moved quickly due to the availability of store surveillance and the immediate reporting of the incident.
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Colon is now being held at the Florence County Detention Center while the case moves forward. The police have not specified when he will have to go to court.
Authorities continue to remind parents and guardians to report suspicious behavior immediately and to stay alert in public spaces, especially in areas where children may be separated from adults, even briefly.
