Local

Neighborhood on edge after reported attempted abduction

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The mother of a 7-year-old boy who says a man tried to snatch him in the driveway of his Lawrenceville home spoke to Channel 2's Ashley Swann. She asked not to be identified, but says she is horrified over what could have happened if her son hadn't gotten away.

"I absolutely hope they track him down and I hope they call me when they do," she said.

The mother says her son had just stepped outside their house where she, her husband and two other children were inside when the attempted kidnapping happened Tuesday night.

"He says he was playing ball and a truck passed by the neighborhood and went into a cul-de-sac and came back very slowly and parked in front of our house," she said. "And the guy got out and ran up the driveway and tried to get him."

The mother says her son could barely speak he was so out of breath as he came running back inside.

They immediately called police to report the man who her son described as slender built, in his 20s or 30s and driving a black pickup truck. The family found out another neighbor reported a vehicle matching the same description for idling suspiciously outside their home only hours before.

"It was just unimaginable," the woman told Swann. "We want everybody to know that there is someone in our community who is so bold that he will come into your yard after your children."

With the help of her neighbors, the woman is now using social media and even going door to door to warn others to be on high alert and keep their eyes on their children at all times.

"Nobody should have the authority to come into any neighborhood and cause this type of mayhem. It's not right and we're not going to tolerate it," she said.

Police said another neighbor reporte the same truck parked outside his home with the engine running hours before the attempted kidnapping.