SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Southfield police are asking for the public's help with identifying a man they say took photos of a 9-year-old girl while she was using a public restroom at a Michaels store.
The incident occurred on Oct. 22 at the Michaels location on Telegraph Road near 12 Mile Road. Police have identified a person of interest captured on surveillance video and are seeking information from the community.
Watch Brett Kast's video report below:
The mother, who requested she not be identified due to the sensitive nature of the case, said she and her daughter were using the two-stall restroom when they heard the door open.
"We heard the (bathroom) door open, we were still talking and I noticed that no one walked past or knocked to see if one of the stalls were free, and I just got an eerie feeling," the mother said. "I looked up, I didn't see anything, but my daughter, she's right in the stall next to me and it was like as soon as I felt it, she said it, she said 'mommy camera, camera!'"
Watch surveillance video of the man police are looking for below:
The girl told her mother she saw a man's hand hanging over the top of the stall, taking photos with an iPhone. She described the suspect as a white male and she said he had a black sleeve. The mother also noticed white shoes beneath the stall.
Southfield Police Chief Elvin Barren said police were able to identify one person matching that description on surveillance footage, which shows the man entering the store around 7:36 p.m. and leaving just five minutes later without purchasing anything.
"We captured him coming in the store, key images and we also captured him leaving the store in a hurry — that's a key factor in this. Hadn't bought anything in the store. He came in empty handed, left empty handed," Barren said.
The suspect was wearing a black shirt under his white sweatshirt, according to police.
“I want to commend this 9-year-old and her mother, mom, for taking quick action — getting the information, calling 911, getting the store employees involved," Barren said. "We need help, and I'm very confident our community is going to step up and lead us to this person of interest, so we can get justice for this family.”
The mother expressed gratitude to both the police and employees at Michaels.
“They (employees) were very hands on. They weren't trying to hide anything. They were very active in trying to find this individual as well and making sure we were safe and OK as well," the mother said. "I just really hope this guy is brought to justice and no other kid falls victim to this kind of situation, invasion of privacy."
The 9-year-old girl had a message for the suspect: "I would say to him to stop taking pictures of anyone else using the restroom, if he had taken pictures of other women and little girls."
Anyone who can identify the person of interest is asked to contact Southfield police or report anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
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