A Michigan man is facing criminal charges for allegedly attempting to kidnap the toddler of a woman he met on a dating app, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

A criminal complaint that was unsealed on Thursday claims Shahzad Hameedi, 46, attempted to kidnap the boy in June 2025, about four months after meeting the boy's mother online. Hameedi, a naturalized United States citizen from Pakistan, was living in Wayne County and traveled to Windsor, Ontario, to meet the woman and her son on multiple occasions, court documents show.

Court records did not show an attorney representing Hameedi in the case, which was being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Windsor Police Service.

The criminal complaint claims Hameedi devised a plan to kidnap the woman's son after she restricted him from seeing the child. According to the criminal complaint, investigators found a laminated ransom note and other assembled items such as a stun gun, a toddler's life vest, zip ties, duct tape, rubber gloves and cold medication with a funnel. The federal investigation also found that Hameed researched tranquilizers. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges that on June 22, Hameedi crossed into Canada and entered the woman's home, where he choked her before being chased away. He returned two days later and assaulted the child.

U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon calls the assault and attempted kidnapping "diabolical."

"No parent or child should ever be subjected to this wickedness. We will bring the full force of the law against violent predators," Gorgan said in a news release.

The criminal complaint alleges that Hameedi showed interest in the boy and wanted to take custody of him and give him a different name. The mother limited Hameedi's spending time with her son after the child returned with bruises and scratches and became reluctant to see Hameedi.

The criminal complaint alleges that on June 24, Hameedi was at the woman's home and said he wanted to take the child for a ride in the neighborhood. When they returned, the woman noticed bruises on the child, to which Hameedi claimed the boy was stung by a bee. Hameedi left the home and the mother called police after the child told her that Hameedi had hit him. 

According to the complaint, an investigation found that his phone pinged in the area of the woman's home on June 14, around the time a neighbor reported a suspicious person near the woman's home, and on June 22, the day the mother reported she was choked.

U.S. Marshals arrested Hameedi on June 27 on a Canadian provisional arrest warrant related to the assault of the child. A search warrant uncovered the laminated ransom note and another laminated note allegedly written by Hameedi posing as the mother abandoning the child, according to the complaint.

"HSI is committed to working with our Canadian partners to hold criminals accountable and safeguard innocent children on both sides of the Northern border," said ICE HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Stentz in a statement. "I'm proud of the HSI agents, the Windsor Police Service and the prosecutors who worked tirelessly to bring charges in this case."