Heroic kids stop would-be kidnapper from dragging child away at bus stop
A group of students waiting for a bus stepped in when they saw a suspected kidnapper try and drag a child away.
The victim had been standing at a bus stop in Maryland, US, at around 7.20am on Monday when a man grabbed them and started pulling them towards a nearby apartment building.
Several other students who were standing nearby intervened and the victim was able to break free.
When the school bus arrived, the students boarded the bus and the incident was reported to school staff at Redland Middle School.
Detectives identified 31-year-old Jamaal Germany, of Gaithersburg, and he was arrested for the attempted kidnapping.
Nursery apologises after child with Down's syndrome ‘treated less favourably’He has now been charged with attempted kidnapping and second-degree assault.
Detectives are now asking anyone who may have been a victim of Germany to contact them.
A parent of a local highschool student told NBC Washington that this isn't the first time something like this has happened.
“Apparently he was at the bus stop last week doing the same thing,” the parent said.
A police presence has been requested at the bus stop where the incident took place.
Parents of local schools - Redland Middle School, Judith A. Resnik Elementary School and Col. Zadok Magruder High School - have been alerted about the suspected attempted kidnapping, writing that the victim in the case was unharmed.
The letter read: “There will continue to be an increased security presence by both MCPS and MCPD today and tomorrow at the impacted bus stop. We are sharing this information with all three school communities given that the bus stop where the incident occurred is used by students from these schools.
“Knowing that this may have been alarming for some of our students, we are providing social emotional support to all of the students who were at the bus stop and may have witnessed this."