Gwinnett Place robbery/ kidnapping

DULUTH - A shoplifting at Gwinnett Place Mall Thursday afternoon turned into a robbery/kidnapping case.

Gwinnett County Police spokesman Edwin Ritter says officers got a call about 4:00 to a report of shoplifting at the Victoria Secret store.

"Investigation revealed that three suspects were shoplifting merchandise from Victoria Secret inside Gwinnett Place Mall," Cpl. Ritter said. "The suspects were using the 10-year-old daughter of one of the suspects to carry out the merchandise. An employee of the store observed this and called for mall security. The three suspects and juvenile fled the store and went in separate directions inside the mall."

Mall security followed one of the suspects with the juvenile outside the mall.

"The suspect advised (security officers) that she was armed with a knife as they approached her," Ritter said. "The suspect opened a car door of a vehicle that was parked in front of one of the mall entrances. This vehicle was occupied by three juveniles ages 10, 8 and 5 and was unrelated to the suspects."

Ritter said the woman ordered the juveniles out of the car and that two of them got out, however, the 5-year-old was unable to get out because "the child was seat belted to a booster seat inside."

Cpl. Ritter said the two suspects got into the car and drove off with the 5-year-old still inside. The car was abandoned at a nearby Fudrucker's Restaurant on Merchants Way at Satellite Blvd. and the 5-year-old was left behind uninjured.

Investigators with the Gwinnett County Police Robbery Unit have made two arrests related to this case. The names of the suspects are being withheld at this time "as it may compromise the continued investigation if released," according to Ritter. Additional arrests are anticipated expected.