Uncle kidnaps young children, says he wanted to ‘take them to heaven,’ per Southern California police

A man was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly kidnapping his young relatives and claiming that he wanted to take them to heaven, according to authorities.

In a post to X , formerly Twitter, the Upland Police Department said that two children, 4 and 6, were kidnapped by their uncle, who had no custodial rights over them. The mother of the children told authorities that he was unstable and that she “feared he would harm” them.

After a tip from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, police spotted the suspect vehicle and attempted to pull the vehicle over. Initially, the man refused, leading to a brief pursuit with the children in the back seat.

Eventually the man pulled over. In a video using an officer’s body camera footage later posted to X, officers were shown pointing their guns at the man after he pulled over.

While being taken into custody, he told police he wanted to take the children to heaven.

The children were taken to a hospital through a precaution. They were unharmed.

No additional details, including the man’s identity, were immediately made available.

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