TIGARD, Ore. — A 56-year-old Oregon man is in jail and facing kidnapping charges after police said he abducted a child playing outside.
In a Facebook post, Tigard police said the 7-year-old child was playing outside Wednesday evening when a man grabbed the child and took him to his own apartment, where he locked the door. Police said the mother saw the abduction and immediately ran after the suspect and her son.
James Harman was taken to the Washington County jail.
Other neighbors saw what was happening and stepped in, as well. “I noticed that (the suspect) was starting to lure the kid inside his apartment, and so I ran down and I was like screaming for another neighbor to get him,” Amanda Terpening told KGW-TV. “And when we finally got to the back door it was just closing and the door locked.”
The mother and Terpening, along with other neighbors, began banging on the door. The group actually knocked down the door just in time to see Harman running out the back door with the boy, KOIN reported. Fortunately, witnesses said the man let the child go quickly.
Ashley Scott, Harman’s neighbor, told KOIN the mother immediately raced and got her child. “She was crying, and when she was crying and weeping you could hear him weeping when they finally met arms together.”
Police said evidence in Harman’s apartment led them to believe he intended to hurt the child, but they didn’t say whether the victim was targeted. Police told KPTV more charges may be filed.
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