Boy, 4, Nearly Abducted From Manhattan Sidewalk
NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Police in Manhattan are searching for a man who they said tried to abduct a four-year-old boy on an East Village street in broad daylight.
Luckily, a video made by a store's surveillance camera has given detectives an image of a suspect. Police are looking for a man who suddenly started to grab the boy, who was being cared for by a nanny at the time, reports CBS 2's Pablo Guzman.
Kate Peterson, a nanny herself who cares for a 15-month-old girl in the area, knows what that nanny and the boy's family are going through.
"That's really scary. Usually I feel safe, but I definitely try to keep an eye out for people that look suspicious," Peterson said. "I'm glad that you told me about that, and I'll definitely be on the watch."
The attempted grab of the child happened right near P.S. 64, which has made parents particularly nervous.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the nanny had just stepped out of a cab, at 6th Street off Avenue B at about 11 a.m. Wednesday morning with four-year-old twins, a boy and a girl.
"She had the girl's hand, and the boy, she was reaching over to get his hand, when a male said words to the effect of 'you're coming with me, kid,' and put his arms around the boy," Kelly said.
Police said the suspect put his arms around the boy and picked him up, but the nanny screamed, and the man walked off.
As he turned the corner, a second surveillance camera picked the suspect up, still walking away past a grocery store.
Police described the suspect as a black man, between the ages of 45 and 55 years old, about five-foot-six to five-foot-eight with a slim build. He was wearing a brown, hooded sweatshirt with writing on the front, and faded black jeans.
Daniel Gleeson said he used to take his young daughter for walks in the morning without thinking twice, but he won't be doing so anymore.
"I'm walking around here all the time with my child," Gleeson said. "I mean, she's in the stroller because I usually walk around with her."
The NYPD is asking for the public's assistance in finding the suspect.
Anyone with information about the attempted abduction is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
