The man then grabbed the girl by the arm and took her to an empty condominium near another courtyard in the large complex, according to Amormino.
Her cousin went in and told her 60-year-old aunt, who was babysitting the girls, and the aunt ran outside, screaming and calling the girl's name, Amormino said.
Apparently scared off by her screams, the man let go of the girl, who ran back to her aunt, unharmed. The man fled when the aunt went inside to call police, he said.
The suspect was described as 20 to 30 years old with dark hair and a slender build.
"I don't know what's going through someone's mind to grab a little girl, just like that," said the victim's godfather Carlos Torres. "I don't want to think what would have happened."
Anyone with information about the suspect was asked to call (714) 628-7170.
