TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Police Department offered a few tips on how parents could keep their children safe from child abductions following an attempted kidnapping attempt over the weekend.
Police say the man pictured tried to kidnap an 8-year-old girl on Saturday, March 25 at the Walmart on West Adams Avenue.
Temple Police Lt. Brian Moody said the vast majority of kidnappings involve someone the victim might know. In this case, police did not say whether or not the two knew each other.
Moody did say, however, there are some things everyone can do to stay safe because, though child abductions or attempted kidnappings out in public are "very rare," they can still happen.
"You know, we take for granted that when we're out in a public place, we feel somewhat safe," Moody said. "Especially a crowded place like Walmart. We don't expect anything like this to happen."
Moody said the man tried to kidnap the girl while she was with her great grandmother.
"Just a few feet away from the [great-]grandmother, there was a gentleman that approached the granddaughter and began making casual conversation with her," Moody said. "He asked her to lift her shirt and then he demonstrated as well. And then he asked her to accompany him to the toy aisle."
When she said no, he allegedly grabbed her arm. She then screamed and ran to her great-grandmother.
So what can you do to keep your children safe?
Moody says screaming is one thing they should do if you ever find yourself in this situation.
"Teach them if they're approached by a stranger who's asking them to do things that aren't necessarily right or makes them suspicious, to run away and scream," Moody said. "Be loud. Run. Get someone's attention."
Police say the great-grandmother was steps away from the 8-year-old girl, but did not see the incident occur.
"[She] did not see this happen, so we are gathering this information from the child herself and we are hoping to confirm everything that she says with video that Walmart will provide," Moody said.
Police told 6 News they have been in contact with the person of interest, but will not share his identity to the public until charges are filed.
Police say they want to gather all evidence to have a strong case to present to the District Attorney. They hope to bring this to a conclusion because an attempted kidnapping like this one can be difficult to process.
"As a parent, it scares me too. It really really does," Moody said. "I know for a fact the next time I'm out with my daughter, I will be keeping a much more watchful eye on her, for sure."
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