A woman tried to kidnap a 7-year-old boy who was riding a Metrobus to school with his with his older sister Wednesday morning, authorities said. The kidnap attempt was thwarted when passengers intervened, police said.
When the boy said he was with his sister, the woman replied: “When I get off this bus, you’re coming with me. We going to the feds,” according to Metro Transit Police.
Later, the woman told the older sister: “Like, I said, he coming with me,” police said.
The children resisted, telling the woman to leave them alone. Passengers helped the siblings off the bus and escorted them onto another one, police said. Once arriving at school, police said, the children reported the incident to administrators.
The 92 travels from Congress Heights Metro station to 14th and U streets Northwest. Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said the woman was believed to have boarded in the area of Eastern Market in Southeast, and that the siblings exited the bus at 8th and H Streets NE.
The suspect was described as a black woman between 30 and 50 years old, 5-foot-2 to 5-foot 5 in height, 160 to 170 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair “in a short Afro style.”
Police were working to determine the exact bus the incident happened on so they could pull video footage of the incident and a photo of the woman.