After witnessing what looked to be kidnapping, a 10-year-old boy followed an elderly man who left his school with his younger sister’s hand clasped in his own.
The man walked into Public School 189 in Brownsville, Brooklyn and walked out with a 6-year-old girl. Her brother, watching the incident take place, followed them until they arrived at what seemed to be the destination, a home on Rochester Avenue, PIX11 reports. The moment the man released his sister, her older brother led her to the home of a nearby relative, police reported.
Initially, the incident was reported as a kidnapping but allegedly, that was not the case. The older man, said to be in his 90s, had taken the wrong child home. His grandchild attends the same school. None of the children were harmed.
Police released footage shows the older man walking into the school, grabbing the young girl’s hand, and walking out showing how little effort is necessary for a crime like this. “School is supposed to be where your kids are safe. That’s why they go there. But I think they need more security,” a parent said.
According to the Education Department spokeswoman, the young girl was taken during an after-school program that is not affiliated with the NYCDOE. A former Administration For Children’s Services employee, Ignacious Roberts, told PIX11 that he thought the school “needed to be investigated by all means.”
Police have since said that the case was closed and that no crime was committed.