Friday afternoon, the woman went with her boyfriend and 8-month-old son to Kohl's department store on East Independence Avenue to fill out a job application.

"The boyfriend, who is the suspect, was supposed to stay in the car and watch the child. Instead he put the child in the carrier, walked in the store and began stealing,” said Lt. Kirk Manlove, a spokesman for the Springfield Police Department.

Police say the 22-year-old man then left the store with the child and stolen shirts in hand but Kohl's staff stopped him in the parking lot. They escorted him back into the store. That's when he dropped the infant and ran.

Kohl's employees called police, who caught up with the man just west of the store. They arrested him on suspicion of stealing and second-degree child endangerment.

Police said the man is not the father of the 8-month-old child, who was safely returned to his mother.