Man Tries Abducting Boy Outside North Side School: Police

Police searching for the man who approached the boy Wednesday

A man tried to abduct a 10-year-old boy this week near a school in the Old Town neighborhood, Chicago Police said.

The man approached the boy around 4 p.m. Wednesday at the playground outside Bell Elementary School. The fourth grader had just gotten out of school when the stranger approached the boy and told him he was taking him home because his mom was sleeping, police said.

The boy ran away and found his mother who just arrived at the school. Police were called and officers continue searching for the man, last seen walking west down Grace Street.

Area residents said this is not the news they want to hear in their neighborhood.

"I walk around here all the time. It's scary," neighbor Greg Tiltz said. "Even though I don't have a child in school here. When it happens in your backyard it's always kind of scary to hear that."
 
The suspect was described as a black man between 45 and 55 years old, standing about 5-foot-6. He was wearing jeans and a stained black T-shirt as well as flip-flops and a Cubs baseball cap. 

Bell Elementary sent a letter home to parents Wednesday, and a parent told NBC Chicago the school talked to the children about the incident.

"We are extremely proud of this student for acting quickly and seeking adult intervention," the school's letter reads.

The school said it alerted all playground personnel and teachers to report any suspicious and unknown individuals.

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