ST. LOUIS – A grandmother stopped a man from luring her three-year-old grandson away over the weekend.

40-year-old Otis Woodard was in the 300 block of Iron St. in south St. Louis Saturday afternoon when he tried to take a child from a backyard, where he was playing with other young family members.

“They can’t even go outside and play no more because a person could come up and snatch them just like that, in the blink of an eye,” the grandmother said, who asked not to be identified.

Court records say Woodard tried to kidnap the child by taking his hand and leading him away from the house. It was seen on surveillance cameras by the family. It was noted that Woodard was wearing a black dress.

The mother and grandmother raced outside and demanded that Woodard let the child go. Police say he followed the family back to the house and sat on the porch after everyone was inside. The grandmother said it appeared Woodard had a knife with him.

“He would not leave us alone. He tried to get in my car, he tried to get into my daughter’s car…then he wanted to go in my daughter’s house,” she said.

Woodard was found a couple blocks away by police. He is charged with first-degree kidnapping. He remains in jail after the courts denied him bond.