KENT, Wash. — A Kent man has been charged with kidnapping after the Kent Police Department (KPD) credited three 11-year-old girls for stopping the kidnapping attempt at an apartment complex Tuesday.
The suspect, Hayder Albu Mohammed, 40, was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping. Mohammed made his first court appearance on Wednesday and a judge set his bail at $250,000.
On July 16, an ice cream truck entered an East Hill apartment complex, which drew dozens of kids to the parking lot, according to KPD. As the 11-year-old girls were walking to the ice cream truck, they saw a man holding the wrist of a six-year-old girl, who was also the girls' neighbor.
The girl was unable to break away from the man’s grip. The 11-year-old girls told police she looked scared and was telling the man to let go of her.
As the girls began filming with their phones, they approached the man and told him to leave the young girl alone, police said. When the girls got closer to the man, he picked up the young girl and attempted to quickly walk away, but police said the girls persisted.
Police said the man told the girls he knew the child, but the young girl shook her head to show he was lying. The man put the young girl down and ran away. The 11-year-old girls took her into the safety of her apartment and her parents later confirmed the man was a stranger.
The family expressed gratitude for the girls' actions.