An 8-year-old boy who lives in the Los Cerritos neighborhood is back home after a possible attempted kidnapping on Monday, April 11.
The child was taking trash to a nearby receptacle around 5:15pm when two men confronted him and attacked him, according to police and a neighbor who helped the boy after the ordeal.
A police investigation found that this was a “possible attempted kidnapping” and the juvenile had run away from the suspects and was found by another citizen crying in front of a residence in the 3800 block of Pacific Avenue, according to Sgt. Brad Johnson of the Long Beach Police Department. Johnson added that the resident contacted the boy and walked him back home.
Diana Hershey, who lives in the 3800 block of Pacific Avenue, about a half a mile from the boy’s family’s residence, was in her yard when she heard the child crying.
“I was kind of deep in my front yard, and we have a big hedge, so I can’t see the street, but I heard a child crying in the distance, and the crying got closer and closer,” Hershey told the Signal Tribune Wednesday. “So, I started to walk to my driveway so I could look out and see what was going on. As I was walking toward the driveway, he ran past the house. So, I saw it was a little boy.”
Hershey said that, initially, she thought he may have been her neighbor’s child, but, when she stepped onto the sidewalk, she saw that it was another boy.
“He was just hysterical, terrified, sobbing, and he was so tired because he had been running over half a mile,” Hershey said. “He was just about to fall down, he was so tired.”
Hershey said she asked him what had happened, and he told her two men had pushed him onto the ground. One man told him to get up, Hershey said, then the boy ran. According to Hershey’s recount of the boy’s story, one man was stronger than the other, and both were dressed entirely in black, with black ski masks covering their faces and black gloves on their hands. Hershey said the boy told her that he saw a lock of blonde hair sticking out from the mask of one of the suspects and that, based on his descriptions, the men would be around 5’9″ .
According to Hershey, the boy said the men chased him until he got onto the street.
She said she offered to drive him home, but she could sense that he was afraid to get into a car with a stranger. Instead, she said, she offered her hand, which he took, and she walked him home.
“He sobbed the whole way home,” she said. “But he was a little calmer by the time we got there. It took us about 20 minutes.”
Najah Chavis, the boy’s mother, told the Signal Tribune Wednesday afternoon that she had contacted police about five minutes after not seeing him near the trash receptacle and after yelling for him.
“Diana [Hershey] returned with him approximately 20 minutes after I called the police,” Chavis said.
Chavis confirmed what Hershey said regarding the boy’s description of the suspects.
“They were wearing black ski masks dressed in all black with black gloves,” Chavis said. “He couldn’t really tell what race they were. He did see blonde hair sticking out of the mask and could remember seeing one of the perps in blue/red shoes.”
She added that her son seems to be recovering from the ordeal.
“My son is doing okay,” she said. “He seems to be back to normal. I’m a very cautious and conscience individual, and I make every day a lesson for my kids about how to stay safe and be aware— even just going to the grocery store. So, he did what he knew to do and he’s going to continue on like that.”
Councilmember Roberto Uranga, who represents the 7th District, where the incident took place, said he was very troubled to hear of the incident, as the safety and welfare of children always come first.
“I am working with the police department to increase patrols in the area and encourage any potential witnesses to come forward as the investigation continues,” Uranga said. “I am committed to hosting community-watch meetings and working with residents to ensure public safety.”
