A man trying to help a lost toddler find her parents was misidentified as a kidnapper on social media over the weekend, according to police in Lakeland, Fla., prompting him to leave town in fear for his safety and the safety of his family.

The man was also punched by the child’s father, who told local media that he ‘‘thought he was trying to take my daughter’’ and ‘‘wanted to kill him.’’

The whole episode prompted the Lakeland Police Department to warn citizens to be careful about what they post on social media so as not to victimize an innocent person.

“Before posting information on matters such as this, we encourage people to identify the source and the validity of such claims before sharing them,’’ the department said in a Facebook post.

Lakeland police said the falsely accused man was visiting friends at a softball game when he noticed that a 2-year old had gotten separated from her parents. She was wandering by herself, police said, and the man believed that she was lost.

‘‘The citizen attempted to ask the girl where her parents were and walked with her in hopes she could point them out,’’ the statement said, a fact verified by at least one independent witness.

At that point, bystanders told the parents that the man was attempting to kidnap the child, police said.

As the two were nearing the playground, three men approached them from behind, Patch reported. One man grabbed the girl and the other man, the child’s father, punched the man five or six times.

‘‘I thought he was trying to take my daughter,’’ the girl’s father told News Channel 8.

‘‘I saw this man with my daughter in his hands walking toward the parking lot. What would you do?’’ the father asked. ‘‘I wanted to kill him.’’

The investigating officer noted the victim’s face had several cuts and was swollen.

Police concluded that the man was only trying to help.

‘‘We had an independent eyewitness that saw him walking around, asking: ‘Is this your parents? Is that your father?’ ’’ Sergeant Gary Gross said.

The father and his friends were not satisfied with the man’s explanation or that of the police. ‘‘So, I guess in Lakeland, you can kidnap a child and get away with it,’’ the father said to police, local media reported.

According to WFLA, other media outlets, and police, family members and friends went on social media and shared the man’s photo, his Facebook page, and his place of business, calling him a child predator, WFLA said. Police, however, called him a good Samaritan in their statement.

The good Samaritan told several local outlets that he has now left town with his family for their safety. He says he will not press charges against the father.

The father made no apologies for his actions, telling the Post, ‘‘All that matters is that my daughter is home safely.’’

WASHINGTON POST