Hamilton parents on edge after school abduction attempt
Witness came to rescue after spotting crying child being led away from school
A heavy police presence was evident as parents brought their children to Earl Kitchener Elementary School in Hamilton Friday morning, the day after the thwarted abduction of a kindergarten child.
Parents dropping their children off expressed a mixture of relief — that someone in the neighbourhood intervened after spotting a child being led away by an unknown man — and anger that the child was taken in the first place.
Police said that shortly after 12 p.m., the man led the kindergarten student away from the playground. A witness saw the child crying and intervened, and the suspect fled on foot. The child was unharmed, but shaken up, police said.
"I have no idea how the guy even came here. There should be a teacher on every single gate," said George Varlis, after dropping off his child at the school’s fenced-in play area.
"There’s no excuse. It should never have happened."
Other parents said the school handled the situation well, especially in terms of communicating with parents.
"They sent an automated message to all the parents. I think they did a really excellent job," Fiona Kouyoumdjian said.
On Friday, Kouyoumdjian’s four-year-old son wanted to ask a police officer walking ahead of him if they’d caught the suspect.
Hamilton police officers stood guard at the entrances to the school, on Dundurn Street near Aberdeen Avenue, while cruisers circled the quiet residential streets surrounding it.
The child was reportedly taken from behind the gated playground area during outdoor playtime. The class was being supervised by a teacher and an early childhood educator at the time, school officials said.
Police seek video of suspect
Police are looking for the suspect, described as standing about five feet seven inches tall, 160 pounds with a slight build, sculpted cheekbones with a pointy noise and wavy, chin-length hair. He was last seen wearing a grey T-shirt.
Today, police are canvassing the area in search of any video from the time of the incident, a spokeswoman said. Anyone with information is being asked to contact police.
Police are also analyzing security at the school.
"We’re taking direction from the police around the investigation," said Sue Dunlop, superintendent of student achievement for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board.
Dunlop said an internal investigation is underway.
The school hasn’t made any specific security changes at the moment, but officials have the same “unanswered questions” as many parents, Dunlop said.
A meeting for parents and staff to discuss the situation is set for next Tuesday.
For now, the school is reminding students of the dangers strangers can pose.
"We don’t want to scare students," Dunlop said, but "we want to make sure that they’re aware that the world can be a dangerous place."
Neighbour expresses concern
On Stanley Avenue, adjacent to the play area, everyone was talking about what happened the day before.
Two women said they would like to know who saved the child, so they could give the person a hug.
Just across from the school, David Emery, a retired Catholic school board superintendent, said he’s always been worried this sort of thing could happen. The three gates of the play area, he said, are always open.
"We figured this would happen a long time ago," Emery said.
"Don’t blame the teachers … they should hire security."
With files from Adam Carter