Police say three 11-year-old girls in Kent, Washington, were heroes when they stopped someone from robbing their 6-year-old neighbor.
Kent police said in a statement on Wednesday that they got a 911 call from someone who saw a man try to take a young child. When the witness told the police about the man, they came and chased him down.
Three girls, ages 11, told police that they were going toward an ice cream truck when they saw their 6-year-old neighbor being held by an unknown man who had her wrist in his hands. Police say the child told the man to let her go and looked scared.
It started to record on their phones, and the girls walked up to the man. But the girls stopped him and asked if he knew the girl. He then picked up the child and tried to leave. Even though he said he did, the little girl shook her head no. She was then put down by the man, who ran off. The three girls then took the child safely back to her apartment.
The child’s parents later told the cops that the man was not their child.
A family friend told the Seattle NBC affiliate KING that they were shocked. “We’re grateful for the people who called police and caught the guy,” he stated.
A 40-year-old man from Kent was arrested on suspicion of theft and taken to the King County jail. The police did not say what his name was.
“We are impressed beyond words at the maturity and protectiveness displayed by these preteen girls,” police said. “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.”
