CBS2 Exclusive: Police Say Man Stalked Teen On Social Media, Showed Up Outside Her Bronx Home
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Police are searching for a man they say is harassing a 16-year-old girl in the Bronx, stalking her on social media and showing up outside her family's home.
The teen told CBS2's Erin Logan in an exclusive interview the man sent her man scary and repulsive messages for months, including one that read, "If you don't answer again, I'm going to kill you and I'm going to hurt your family and then I'm going to kill myself."
"He left me a very sexual message on my phone," she said.
The NYPD told CBS2 it is actively looking for 24-year-old Malik Hackett. Police believe he's from upstate New York and most recently lived in Jamaica, Queens.
The teen said the two met on the social media site Live.me.
"It's an app where teenagers go live to express themselves," she said.
The 16-year-old claims the man said he was 17 and never wanted to show his face, but was really nice. They later became friends on other social media outlets, and she eventually got a good look at him.
"That's how I noticed this guy is not 17," she said.
Her mother, Josie Gutierrez, said she's warned her daughter in the past.
"I'm pretty sure that this guy is out there doing the same thing he's doing to my daughter to other girls," she told Logan.
Police said the two met twice in person and when the teen started to back off, the man wasn't taking no for an answer – even showing up outside her home.
She believes he was able to track her down through the location sharing option on Snapchat.
Even after filing a police report on October 17, Gutierrez said the man kept coming back to their home. She did some digging online and found photos of him holding a gun. That's when she really started getting nervous.
The building's superintendent has since allowed a pit bull, Tonka, to live in the home with them.
"There's a lot of kids that reside in this building," he said.
The most recent visit from Hackett was caught by a surveillance camera Sunday night.
"He stands under the fire escape, peeking through there," the super said.
"He should be in jail. He's going to end up hurting a girl my age or younger," the teen added.
The neighborhood is on high alert, hoping police track Hackett down.
CBS2 reached out to Snapchat, which said victim's location would not have been shared automatically. It must have been activated through the app's settings.