Chicago girl, 13, says 2 men in ski masks tried to kidnap her on way to school
CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) - A 13-year-old says two men in ski masks tried to kidnap her when she got off the school bus on Chicago’s South Side.
Parents got word of what happened by getting a call from a school official, and police are still looking for the suspects.
A fourth grader, named Jaylen, is afraid.
“I don't feel safe, like, me, walking home by myself,” he said.
The student who escaped the kidnapping attends Thomas Hoyne Elementary.
Jaylen's grandmother, who picks him up after school every day, expressed unease during an afternoon pickup.
“They can't go to school. Even for boys, I’m scared for him,” Denise Mitchell said.
Chicago police say the 13-year-old girl had just gotten off the school bus Friday morning a few blocks from school when two men, dressed in all black and wearing ski masks to cover their face, jumped from a white van to grab her, getting ahold of her backpack and tearing it as she broke away. She then ran five blocks to school.
“I got very scared for her. We've been best friends for over a year now,” Jaylen said. “A few times I had to walk home, and if I have to walk home by myself, I don't feel safe, me walking home by myself.”
The little girl is okay, and police are still on the lookout for the two men responsible.