NYPD: Man Tries To Kidnap 11-Year-Boy At Brooklyn Subway Station
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are looking for a man they say menaced and may have been trying to abduct an 11-year-old boy at a Brooklyn subway station.
The boy was by himself on the platform at the Myrtle-Wyckoff Avenues subway station around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
When a Queens-bound M train rolled in and the boy tried to board, police say the suspect reached out, gripped the boy's arm tight and kept him from getting on.
The boy broke free and started to run down the stairs to the L train platforms.
He told investigators that as he escaped he heard the man say, "I'm going to get you," CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
The boy stopped a woman and asked for her cell phone to call his mother. The woman escorted the boy to a token booth where the cops were called, Carlin reported.
The suspect had doubled back up to the platform for the M line and escaped on a Queens-bound train.
The suspect who is described as around 30 years old, 5-foot-10 in a black shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers -- did not know the child.
When caught he faces charges that include unlawful imprisonment.
Subway riders are concerned for the safety of school kids.
"This is scary and dangerous," said Williamsburg resident Keila Guzman.
"I'm so happy that somebody was there to intervene because you don't see that that much," said Ridgewood resident Ali Ferguson.
Some riders said 11 is too young to be taking the subway solo, and that he should have been with a guardian, buddy, or group.
"If I'm the parents I don't let him come alone," Efron Garcia said.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.