An autonomous security robot at the Stanford Shopping Center has been temporarily pulled from use following reports that it knocked a toddler to the ground and then ran the kid over last week. The Chronicle reports the decision by mall officials this morning, and says that, at present, it is only a temporary one.

When we learned earlier this week that the robot, a Knightscope K5, had reportedly inured 16-month-old Harwin Cheng, we, like everyone, were kind of disturbed. More concerning, though, according to Cheng's mother, is that a human security guard at the mall told her this was not the first time the K5 had injured a toddler.

"The robot hit my son's head and he fell down facing down on the floor and the robot did not stop and it kept moving forward," mom Tiffany Teng explained to ABC 7 following the ill-fated encounter. "He was crying like crazy and he never cries."

Knightscope’s Vice President Marketing and Sales, Stacy D. Stephens, quickly went into damage control — telling Gizmodo that she and her team were shocked at the toddler-v-machine encounter.

"Hearing a report that one of our machines may have injured someone is absolutely horrifying," she wrote. "Many of our team members are parents and understand the importance of protecting our children at all costs. To date, Knightscope machines have run for more than 35,000 hours and traveled over 25,000 miles, and this is the first report of any such incident."

"Similar to every other technology company in Silicon Valley, Knightscope strives to make improvements on a daily basis," she continued, we assume without pausing to reflect that not every other Silicon Valley technology company makes autonomous security robots. "Our core mission is to ensure public safety, and we are taking this report very seriously."

The K5 is in use at other locations around California — notably in places less likely to run over a toddler — like the San Francisco Uber inspection lot.

As of now there's no word on how long mall officials plan on keeping the K5 offline.

It will, we assume, be back.

Previously: Security Robot Knocks Toddler To The Ground Then Runs Him Over At Stanford Shopping Center