Man with knife allegedly threatens 8-year-old girl at Echo Park store: ‘I thought it was the end’

A man who taken into custody Friday after allegedly threatening a young girl with a knife Friday outside a Walgreen’s pharmacy in Echo Park.

The suspect was reported about 6:55 p.m. to be armed with a large knife threatening the 8-year-old girl in the doorway of the store in the 1600 block of Sunset Boulevard, according to Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department.

“I was like so scared,’’ the girl, Nattanyah Garcia, told KABC-TV with her mother by her side. “I thought it was the end of the world for me.’’

Nattanyah showed reporters how she said the man held the kitchen knife, which was reported to have a 7- to 8-inch blade, just inches away from her chest. The girl said she stayed calm for fear of the suspect hurting her.

The girl’s mother called for help and the man fled the scene. An officer caught and collared him, Madison said.

The girl was not harmed. The man appeared to be under the influence of drugs and was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of methamphetamine, police said.