A 19-year-old was arrested in connection with an attempted-kidnapping investigation in Baltimore County last week, police said.

Cameron Keelan is facing attempted-kidnapping charges after the incident on Dec. 4, according to police. Officers said they responded to the 8300 block of Edgedale Road in Parkville for a reported suspicious person in the area.

The police investigation revealed a man approached three young children and tried to persuade them to follow him away from the location, authorities said.

Officers identified Keelan as the suspect and arrested him. He is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center, according to police.

According to police, Keelan allegedly told the children — believed to have been around 6 or 7 years old — that their parents weren’t home, and they needed to go with him.

A witness stopped and asked the man and the children if they knew each other, and they all said no, according to charging documents.

Keelan allegedly cursed at the witness, acted as if he were armed with a weapon, and then took off, police said. A parent then came out of the home, was told what the man had said to the children, and said that he did not give consent for the children to go with the man.

A witness took a photo of the man and shared it on social media.

On Dec. 4, police said, Keelan was observed in the parking lot of the Immaculate Heart of Mary School on Loch Raven Road, where he was accused of following children.

Keelan was located nearby and told police that he was cutting through the parking lot to get home, according to documents. He also told police that he had not been talking with any children and that the social media post was made up.

Keelan had been banned by the school that day, according to charging documents.

“We’ve had notes from the school in recent weeks that there are individuals around whom people should be wary of. I certainly never thought that he would be one of those,” added Gregory Arment, whose two children go to Immaculate Heart of Mary School. “We walk there every day, and sometimes we would see him going to or from, and it was never remotely a consideration.”

During the investigation, police confirmed they’d had multiple run-ins with Keelan for incidents that were “sexual in nature,” according to charging documents. Police said they were also called to his mother’s home last week because Keelan was having a mental health crisis.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the police at 410-887-2361.

WJZ is a media partner of The Baltimore Banner. See the original report.