An 11-year-old girl in New York City has recounted her harrowing experience of thwarting an attempted kidnapping as she walked home from school in the Bronx.
Fatima, the young girl, was walking near the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard around 6 p.m. when a stranger approached her. "I felt very nervous and shocked. I was scared," she told The Post. The man reportedly asked her if she was 18 and if he could have a hug. When Fatima declined and tried to walk away, the man grabbed her wrist forcefully.
"He was like, ‘can I have a hug?’ I was like, ‘no, no thank you,’" Fatima recalled. After she refused a second time, the man grabbed her. Fatima managed to free her hand, shoved him away before running.
Fatima’s mother, Fatoumata Jaiteh, stated that her daughter was able to pinch the man's hand to get free before running back to her brother. They then returned to the school, where the dean contacted the police. Jaiteh described the assailant as a complete stranger and noted that he was captured on surveillance footage, but he remains at large.
Jaiteh, who experienced a similar kidnapping attempt in high school, expressed her panic upon learning of the incident, especially since it occurred shortly before her daughter's birthday. Despite the frightening encounter, Fatima celebrated her birthday with cake that evening and returned to school the following day, stating she did not want to be absent.