'Good Samaritan' bullied, beaten and called a kidnapper after helping lost child'

A Florida police department is warning people of the dangers of spreading false information after a good Samaritan was mistaken for a kidnapper and had his name and picture spread across Facebook.

The man was watching a softball game with friends in Lakeland, Florida, over the weekend when he noticed a 2-year-old girl walking around the sports complex alone, according to a statement from the Lakeland Police Department.

Concerned, the man approached the girl and walked with her in an attempt to locate her parents.

One independent witness confirmed this to authorities, according to the police incident report.

The parents of the girl were told that their daughter had been seen with the man, walking towards a playground, police said. The parents believed that their daughter was being kidnapped.

Sgt. Gary Gross of the Lakeland Police Department told CNN that the girl's father and some of his friends took the girl and attacked the man.

"They grabbed that child and took him from behind and knocked him to the ground and started kicking and hitting him," Gross said.

Lakeland police said in their statement that "this incident truly involved a good Samaritan trying to assist a lost child finding their parents."