According to authorities, three 11-year-old girls in Kent, Washington, were praised as heroes for foiling a plot to kidnap their 6-year-old neighbor.
Kent police described receiving a 911 call from a witness who witnessed a guy try to abduct a small child in a statement released on Wednesday. Officers showed there and pursued the individual when the witness gave a description of him.
Following the man’s arrest, three 11-year-old girls reported to the police that they had seen their 6-year-old neighbor being restrained by an unidentified man who was holding her wrist while they were making their way toward an ice cream truck. Authorities stated the young girl was indicating to the man to let her go and appeared scared.
The girls went up to the man and started filming on their phones. The females stopped him as he tried to leave after picking up the infant and enquiring as to whether he knew the girl.
The young girl shook her head, refusing to believe him when he said he did. After setting her down, the man ran away, leaving the infant in the secure care of the three girls as they returned to her apartment.
Police were then informed by the child’s parents that the man was unfamiliar.
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A family member expressed disbelief to Seattle’s NBC affiliate KING. “We’re grateful for the people who called police and caught the guy,” he stated.
The suspect, a 40-year-old Kent resident, was taken into the King County jail after being suspected of kidnapping. The police withheld his name.
“We are impressed beyond words at the maturity and protectiveness displayed by these preteen girls,” Kent police stated. “Without their intervention, the excellent description of the suspect from the 911 caller, and the swift response by multiple KPD Officers, the outcome would have changed dramatically.”
