POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating an attempted kidnapping that occurred early Sunday morning in Pompano Beach.
According to detectives, three juvenile females were walking home just before 1 a.m. from the 2700 block of Northeast Ninth Court when a man on a bicycle came up to them.
Authorities said that two of the girls immediately ran away. A third girl, aged 14, continued walking until she realized the man was following her.
After trying to run away from the man, the suspect blocked her path and attempted to grab her by her hoodie, authorities said.
Detectives said the man told her to get on his bike, however, the girl screamed and was able to run away.
The girls immediately alerted trusted adults after the incident and contacted law enforcement.
BSO detectives have released video of the two girls running away and the third trailing behind before calling police.
Residents told Local 10 News’ Terrell Forney that the incident occurred because the area is usually quiet that early in the morning.
“It’s unusual that there would be some sort of predator on a bicycle at that time of the morning because the street is mostly vacant at that time,” said neighbor Tony Miniea.
Lili Ladrie, a neighbor, told Local 10 News that she hasn’t seen anything like this happen in the 11 years that she’s been living in the area.
“Everybody knows everybody here and we’ve been living here for 11 years as we’ve never had anything like that happening--it’s a little unusual i would say,” said Ladrie.
Surveillance video also captures the suspect on his bicycle but does not show the man’s face.
The girls said the suspect is a black male, approximately 5 feet 7 inches tall, with a muscular build. He is bald or has very short hair with no facial hair. His bicycle is believed to be dark in color.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact BSO Special Victims Unit Detective Yanessa Ayra at 954-321-4200 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.