It happened last Thursday around 4:00 in the Neighborhood Market parking lot off of Mission and Crossover. The mother did not want to talk to us on camera, but she did talk with us at length off camera. She says she ran in for just a few minutes to grab some groceries, leaving her 14-year-old son and 3-year-old son, who was asleep in the back seat, in the car. When she came back out, she says her 14-year-old told her a man had tried to take him from the car. He told her the stranger came up to the window and knocked on it, and waved for the boy to get out of the car. The child refused, and when the man saw the mother coming out of the store he walked away. She immediately called police, who searched the area and located the man. He told officers he just wanted a ride, but the mother says she believes he had more sinister plans in mind. Although he has no criminal history with the Fayetteville Police Department, officers told the mother they had spoken with this same man two weeks ago for harassing two girls in some nearby apartments. Officers could not arrest him because knocking on a window is not a crime. The mother did file a police report and says this is a prime example of why it's so important to talk to your children about strangers.
