MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Miami Gardens police released a sketch Wednesday of a man who tried to abduct a 16-year-old girl last week as she was walking to school.
The incident was reported Friday morning in the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and Northwest 191st Street.
Police said the teen was on her way to Miami Norland Senior High School just after 8 a.m. Friday when a man got out of his older-model silver Infiniti and pointed a gun at her back, telling her to get into the car.
The girl continued to walk to school, ignoring the man's demands.
She told police that's when he got back into his car and tried to block her with his vehicle. She said she continued to walk, finally making it to school, where she immediately called police.
Authorities described the culprit as a black man between the ages of 23 to 25. He is about 5 feet, 2 inches tall, has a muscular build, a mustache and a goatee. He also has tattoos on the lower portion of the right arm, police said.
Police said the man's Infiniti has peeling mirror tint and chipped paint with a blue undercoating.
The news of the failed abduction has neighbors on edge.
"Yeah, I'm scared. I'm scared to walk now," Aneesha Harps, who lives in the area, told Local 10 News.
Anyone with information about his identity is asked to call Detective K. Warren at 305-474-1648 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 is offered for information that leads to an arrest.
