Burien store employees save boy from attempted abduction
Sep 30, 2012, 7:01 AM | Updated: Oct 1, 2012, 6:16 am
A man has been arrested for attempted abduction after assaulting an 11-year-old boy in a bathroom at an Albertson’s Saturday afternoon.
Just before noon, the boy’s family stopped at the Albertson’s on First Avenue South in Burien.
“Their 11-year-old son went in to use the restroom while the parents waited near the entrance to the store. And while he was in there a man entered and grabbed the 11-year-old and started to strangle him,” says King County Sheriff Steve Strachan.
Strachan says the suspect, who is a man in his 30s, threatened the boy and tried to force him into a bathroom stall, smashing his hands into the door jamb. Store employees heard the boy struggling and tried to stop the attack. The interruption allowed the boy to escape and the suspect tried to run out of the store.
The man fled with his pants down and was tackled by store employees who held him until police arrived. According to the King County Sheriff’s Office, the man was arrested with what appeared to be methamphetamine and dirty syringes.
“Just an example of some extraordinary work done by the employees of this store. They took quick action to head off what could have become any parent’s worst nightmare,” says Sheriff Strachan.
The boy suffered only minor injuries to his neck and hands.
The King County Sheriff’s Office has said that the boy did not know the suspect and that the man does not appear to be from the Burien area. They have not released any other information about the suspect or the victim.
Bob Larson contributed to this report
