A grade 6 student was approached at lunch recess and grabbed in an abduction attempt, but was lucky enough to pull away and get the attention of a supervisor on the school grounds. The supervisor was able to pull out their phone and take this short video of the suspect driving away. Police are asking anyone with information on the suspect to come forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN3_ZaxzWGA&feature=youtu.be
The alleged abduction attempt happened on April 10 at Florence Hallock Elementry & Junior High school on the North end of Edmonton. The fact that the abduction attempt was in broad daylight, in front of hundreds of witnesses which included students and supervisors that were all outside for recess, is alarming to both students and parents.
“This is a good neighbourhood, full of families, on the same property as the Fire Station; the school staff takes any and all measures to ensure the children’s safety – I feel confident in them for sure. But it’s scary that this happened in the middle of the day, at recess. People like this need to be caught and taken off of the street ASAP. This is why I don’t want my kids to walk home on their own, even though we live very close,” a parent of two students who attend the school said.
The man had parked his truck in the parking lot behind the field where the children play at recess, and began to wave at a group of four grade 6 girls. He then got out of his truck and proceeded to grab one of the girls first by the hand, then the arm, trying to drag her back to his truck. Her and her friends made a lot of noise and she was lucky enough to pull herself away and get the immediate attention of one of the supervisors.
So very thankful that the girl was able to get away, but this serves as a reminder to parents to let their children know what to do in the event that they are approached by a stranger. This girl is a perfect role model for that, and her actions saved her from God-knows-what.
A quote from the EPS website about the incident: “Investigators are working closely with school administrators, and staff and parents have been advised of the alleged incident. Parents are reminded to talk to their children to ensure they remain vigilant and tell a trusted adult right away if they are approached by a stranger.
Anyone with information about this suspect is asked to contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.”
Please share the video of the truck so this man can be caught as soon as possible – his desperation is showing in the time and manner he attempted this abduction – so hopefully he does not try this again at this school, or any other. Stay vigilant!
Photo credit: Screenshot from a video posted by CTV News – see their story and an interview with the parent of the girl who was the target of this attempted abduction HERE.
So Do they have a description of the man? How old approximately? What was he wearing? What nationality?
They did get a brief description. White male in his early 30s, driving the black truck shown in the article here!