Recent Attempted Kidnapping Prompts Community Meeting

TAKOMA PARK, MD — The Takoma Park Police Department will host a community meeting Monday to discuss the recent attempted child abduction and child safety education.

Police said a man in a van tried to kidnap an 8-year-old girl as she walked to school in Takoma Park Tuesday morning. The attempted abduction occurred at about 9:15 a.m. as the girl was walking near Elm and Pine Avenues.

Police said the male suspect was the passenger in a gray minivan with dents on the side. The driver is male, police said, but that's all they know. His van was last seen on Elm Avenue heading toward John Nevins Andrews School.

>> See Related: Man Tries To Kidnap 8-Year-Old In Takoma Park: Police

Police Chief Tony DeVaul will be at the meeting along with staff from Defend Yourself to discuss the ways to talk to children about safety.

The meeting will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Council Auditorium on the second floor of the City Building at 7500 Maple Ave.

The suspect is described as having a light brown skin complexion and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a black knit hat, light-faded black sweatpants with holes in them and a black sweatshirt. He had a hoop nose ring, a flower tattoo on his left hand and a pimple near his right eye, police said.

If you live on Elm Ave or Pine Ave and have security cameras outside your home, please contact police at 301-270-1100.

Patch Photo by Cameron Luttrell