Dallas-area parents are on edge this week after two attempted child abductions were caught on video on the same day.
The two attempted child abductions happened within hours and just miles of each other on Monday, but law enforcement officials said they have found no evidence that the two kidnapping attempts are related.
“Both incidents had the potential to lead to tragedy.”
The first kidnapping attempt happened around 8:20 a.m. outside Richardson.
A female freshman student was walking to the JJ Pierce High School campus when she noticed a driver following her.
The frightened girl rang the doorbell of a house in the area.
Shane Burke opened the door and let the boy into the house.
Burke said. KXAS TV“She initially hid behind our car to see if he would come back, and sure enough, he did come back, very slowly. And again, she was very smart. She did all the right things. When I opened the door, she started explaining that someone had been following her. She was very shaken.”
He added: “I don’t think he said anything.” [to the child]She said: “He walks up and down the street and keeps staring at me and it makes me feel uneasy.”
“I don’t know this guy’s motives or intentions, but she said she doesn’t know him. He wasn’t an ex-boyfriend or family or anything so it doesn’t matter,” Burke said. “This is serious business. It was a close call. Thankfully she did the right thing.”
Burke’s wife drove the girl to school.
Burke checked his home’s security camera and noticed cars driving up and down the road.
Burke called the police. Horrifying video.
Richardson police spokesman Mike Wieczorek said the suspect’s vehicle is a black or dark blue, four-door 2014 to 2016 Toyota Corolla S. Police have described the suspect as balding, between 20 and 30 years old, dark skinned and possibly Latino.
Security camera footage shows a man jumping out of the passenger side of the car and chasing the boy as he runs back towards the house.
Richardson Independent School District letter Parents are urged to tell their children: “If you see anything unusual on the way to or from school, run to a safe place and report it immediately to a trusted adult, staff member or parent.”
The second kidnapping attempt happened around 2:40 p.m. in nearby Far North Dallas.
Jenna Skolnick said her sons were playing with friends near their home when “we heard the door slam open and we heard voices yelling, ‘Jay’s being kidnapped! Jay’s being kidnapped!'” Ms. Skolnick said at first she thought it was a prank.
But Skolnick recalled one disturbing incident: “The guys in the car were telling the boys, ‘Hey, come talk to us, check out the car.’ One of the boys got really scared and said, ‘We’ve got to get out.'”
“They were calling out to my son, ‘Hey, there’s a football player in the car. Come talk to him,'” Skolnick recalled, adding that his son said, “I don’t talk to strangers!” The driver then put the car in reverse and his son “took off.”
Men Surveillance Video He jumped out of the passenger side of the car and chased the boy as he ran back towards the house, then suddenly stopped the car when he noticed his concerned mother recording him on her cell phone on the porch.
“I just wanted to take pictures and follow them, but I wanted to get my boys in the car first,” Skolnick explained, adding that he also managed to take a photo of the car’s license plate.
The Dallas Police Department press release“Preliminary investigation reveals that a group of children were outside when they were approached by a young Hispanic male in a white SUV who asked one of the children to look at something in the back of the vehicle.”
Dallas police identified the vehicle as a Toyota 4Runner, and investigators believe a dark-colored Chevrolet pickup truck seen on video may also have been involved in the kidnapping attempt.
Kara Mendelson, a city council member representing Dallas’ 12th District in north Dallas, said she was “shocked” by the attempted child abduction.
“We are thankful that no children were injured. Both incidents could have been tragic,” Mendelson said. Written On X social media platforms.
According to crime analysis data Dashboard There have been 122 kidnappings or abductions in the city of Dallas this year, a 14% increase compared to the same period in 2023. There have been 57 human trafficking crimes in Dallas this year.
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