Hayward Police, Schools On Alert After Increasingly Brazen Kidnapping Attempts
HAYWARD (CBS SF) -- Investigators are looking at a pattern of increasingly brazen kidnapping attempts in Hayward, and teenage girls appear to be the intended target.
A Hayward High student walking home Friday was passed by a car, when suddenly a man tried to push her into it.
She was able to fight him off, despite the suspect pulling out a handgun. That incident was the third attempted kidnapping of a high school student in Hayward in a span of six weeks. The first two attempts were against Tennyson High teens.
"Something that we're certainly concerned about for the safety of our residents, our students," Hayward Police Sergeant Tasha De Costa said.
Police released sketches of the suspects in each of the cases, but aren't sure if it's the same man.
The would-be kidnapper drives a white sedan, and strikes after school on Fridays. The girls have been walking alone during each of the attempted kidnappings. They range in age from 14-16, and stand just above five feet tall.
"We are getting the word out to the schools, getting the school resource officers out and about after school to patrol these areas outside, and surrounding the schools," DeCosta said.
Hayward's school superintendent met with the city's police chief Monday morning, and there will be a stepped up effort to keep students safe from a potential kidnapper when they get back from spring break.
The first attempt involved no gun, but during the second attempt the suspect mentioned that he had a gun.