Charlotte, NC (WCNC) - — Police are looking into a prank gone too far.
A young man picked up a child, right in front of his mother, said the word "kidnap" then walked away. It's called the Dino Bold Challenge.
Video of the incident posted to YouTube was recorded in Charlotte. Police said it's no joke, and somebody could have gotten hurt.
NBC Charlotte spoke to the prankster on the phone. He said he didn't mean to harm or offend anyone.
In the video, you can hear him say "The Kidnap Test" then pick up a stranger's kid. The woman immediately says, "Nope!" and gets her child back.
"You hear about pranks and children being picked up against their will, nervous mothers, This has the potential to go sideways very fast," said Rob Tufano with CMPD.
This latest prank is one of many, but police say they weren't laughing.
"We live in this kind of world where social media is king, followers really rule the day, but at what expense? Is it going to be at the expense of public safety? And that's really a concern for us and our department," Tufano said.
Carla Derden has a six-year-old granddaughter.
"I probably would've had something in my hand to beat him upside the head with it," said Derden.
She saw the video but didn't find it funny.
"It's not funny at all. They may call it a prank, but it's not a prank to the parents when they look up and see their child walking away with someone else," Derden said.
That's where police and the public are seeing eye to eye -- at least on this latest prank.
"Flat out idiotic. And to approach someone like this and to accost people like this by coming out of nowhere this is just a recipe for disaster as sure as I'm standing here," said Tufano.
NBC Charlotte also spoke to the husband of the woman in the prank video. He said they're trying to move on; they've already been through enough emotional distress.