Man, 34, tries to ‘make friends’ with 13-year-old outside Tacoma middle school
May 15, 2014, 7:45 AM | Updated: 9:08 am
Tacoma police are keeping a close eye on a man who recently attempted to lure a 13-year-old girl to hang out with him on Monday.
“A student at Truman Middle School contacted the principal’s office and let them know that a man near the school attempted to give her his phone number and engage her in conversation,” said Dan Voelpel with Tacoma Public Schools.
Police told officials at Truman Middle School they had located the 34-year-old suspect. The man claimed to be new to the neighborhood and was just trying to make friends.
According to police, they won’t be arresting the man but they are continuing an investigation into the case.
“In cases like this, they happen from time to time throughout the school year, but what we do is remind parents to have a conversation with their students about safe practices, always walking with someone else to and from school, not walking alone,” said Voelpel.
The principal of Truman Middle School has sent information home to parents about the incident.
The school is asking students to report any suspicious activities to teachers.
“Safety is very important to us, with our kids,” said Voelpel. “We have the safety officer stationed at Truman every day, and we continue the vigilance we have every day to watch out for the kids and respond to anything like this that occurs.”
KIRO Radio’s Jillian Raftery and MyNorthwest.com’s Alyssa Kleven contributed to this report.
