A Maryland man has been arrested after an incident in which several students intervened to disrupt what appeared to be an attempted kidnapping.
The Montgomery County Department of Police arrested Jamaal Germany of Gaithersburg in connection with the Monday incident, according to a release posted on the department’s website.
According to police, the alleged victim was standing at a school bus stop with other students at about 7:20 a.m. Monday when the student was grabbed and pulled toward a nearby apartment building.
At that point, students who were waiting for the bus tried to stop the student from being taken. The student was then able to break free.
All of the students waiting for the bus boarded the bus when it arrived. The incident was reported to school staff who then contacted the police.
Germany was later arrested, police said.
Police said they are seeking others who may have been involved in similar incidents.
A Gaithersburg community is distraught after Montgomery County Police arrested Jamaal Germany, 30, for attempted kidnapping at a school bus stop this morning. The child was unharmed, and broke free after other students fought Germany off! More details tonight on @7NewsDC at 11. pic.twitter.com/7W1atRrHwg
— Christian Flores (@CFloresNews) March 21, 2023
Germany and the student involved did not know one another, according to WJLA-TV.
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WJLA spoke to one neighbor who did not want her identity revealed.
“It was scary. It’s really dark in the morning when they leave out here, and you never know. You just never know. It doesn’t matter what area you live in,” she said.
Parent Jartu Toweh, whose infant is too young to attend school, said she will begin making safety plans when the time comes for her child to go to school.
“It’s totally disturbing. You don’t expect to hear things like that happening, in general, so close to home. We know things happen in the world. It’s very unsettling when it happens close to your community,” Toweh said.
“Safety at the forefront, for sure. It’s uncomfortable to think of someone doing something like that.”
ICYMI: Redland M.S. & Resnik Elementary students waiting for the bus this morning in Gaithersburg are noticing an increase in police presence. The safety move comes after an attempted kidnapping of a student waiting for a bus yesterday morning on Towne Crest Dr. @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/9BRhAt7fPb
— Dominique Moody (@dmoodytv) March 21, 2023
The school district summarized the incident in a note to parents, which said the target of the alleged abduction was a middle school student, who was unharmed.
The school district said police will have an increased presence at the bus stop where the incident took place.
