BROOKLYN, Ill. — Police in Brooklyn, Illinois, are asking parents to be on a lookout for a man trying to abduct kids in the Metro East.
“To see that my daughter almost got kidnaped. It’s like scary," Kimberly Borders said. "Our kids are scared."
For the last year and a half, Borders has called Brooklyn her home.
"It's been great because I grew up in Brooklyn all my life and my family is from her," she said.
She always considered her home safe, but a scary incident involving her 11-year-old daughter has changed her once positive outlook on her community.
"My daughter's lucky, but other kids may not be as lucky as mine," Borders said.
Every school day, Borders said her daughter, who she didn't want to go on camera, walks to and from Lovejoy School with a group of friends.
However, Thursday night, the sixth-grader decided to change her routine and walked home by herself.
"She was walking home. A car made a U-turn, followed her up the street and stopped at the corner," Borders said.
Officers said a man in a white Pontiac Bonneville with Missouri license plates tried to pick up a sixth-grader near 6th and 7th street. According to officers, the man tried to talk to the child, but she took off running to a family member's home and called 911.
The driver then sped off in the opposite direction.
"I was very scared. scared that someone was going to kidnap her, and I wasn't going to be able to see her," she told 5 On Your Side.
Since the attempted abduction, Borders said she has made a change of her own.
"I drop her off in the morning and a family member picks her up in the afternoon," she said.
Ultimately, she's glad her daughter did the right thing.
"She knows not to go to cars. I teach her not to talk to strangers and for her to go close to cars. I'm very proud of her," she said.
5 On Your Side obtained a letter sent to parents from Lovejoy School, which told them about the incident.
The school said it plans to speak with the police department about being visible during school dismissal hours and after school activities.
Anyone with information about the driver of the car is asked to call the Brooklyn Police Department at 618-274-2198.
