Ashley Johnson recalls terrifying attempted kidnapping on 'Growing Pains' set

Ashley Johnson revealed she was nearly kidnapped while filming Growing Pains as a young child, recalling that an armed man grabbed her and tried to flee before security intervened.

The 42-year-old actress shared the frightening incident during an appearance on the Weird Kids podcast, saying she was walking with her mother near the sitcom's live studio audience when a man suddenly picked her up and started running. Security quickly tackled the suspect and rescued Johnson, who was only 6 or 7 years old at the time.

Ashley Johnson says suspect grabbed her on set

Johnson said audience members were just feet away from the cast when they left their trailers, making it possible for the man to reach her.

"So, I'm walking with my mom, and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line, and he grabs me, and grabs me up and starts booking it," she recalled.

She said security eventually caught the suspect, adding that she remembered being thrown around during the struggle. At the time, she did not understand the seriousness of what had happened and was more concerned about losing one of her shoes.

Johnson also revealed that the production had received a threatening letter beforehand from someone claiming they would come to the set with a gun and kill members of the cast.

Security stopped armed suspect

The actress said the man was carrying a gun when security apprehended him.

"He ended up clearly going to jail," Johnson said. "He had a gun. And, you know, they got him, and they saved me."

Johnson portrayed Chrissy Seaver on Growing Pains from 1990 to 1992, joining the ABC sitcom during its fourth season alongside Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold and Jeremy Miller.

Since then, she has built a successful career in television and voice acting, including roles in Blindspot and voicing Ellie in The Last of Us video game series.