ST. LOUIS – A man charged with attacking people in Tower Grove Park with brass knuckles over the weekend faces new accusations of kidnapping women from the same park.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the police were called to the 3900 block of Main Drive in the park on Friday, Aug. 1 and found the victims visibly upset and crying. The victims were taken to the hospital.

Both victims told police they were at the park when a man, later identified as Austin J. Fitzgerald, 61, approached them from behind with a firearm and said, “You two are coming with me.”

Fitzgerald allegedly grabbed one victim’s arm, but she resisted. He then ordered her to follow him in her car. Police said Fitzgerald ordered the other victim into his car. He drove away after the other victim activated her car alarm and began shouting for help.

According to police, Fitzgerald kept the gun in his lap while driving with the other victim. He allegedly pulled the victim’s shirt down, groped her, and said they were going to have sex when they got back to his home. He then grabbed the woman’s purse and demanded money.

The woman eventually escaped Fitzgerald’s vehicle and jumped into a bystander’s car. The bystander had recorded the incident, police said. Additional witnesses at the scene confirmed what happened to police officers.

Fitzgerald was ultimately taken into custody the following day when park rangers detained him after he punched people with brass knuckles.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Fitzgerald with first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of armed criminal action, and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.