A man was arrested on Monday after allegedly trying to kidnap a middle school student at a bus stop in Gaithersburg, Md. earlier in the morning, the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) said.
Police officers arrested Jamaal Germany, 30, for attempted kidnapping. According to detectives, Germany grabbed a Redland Middle School student waiting at the bus stop on the 17600 block of Towne Crest Drive and tried pulling the victim into an apartment.
That's when several other students fought off Germany, allowing the victim to break free, police said. That victim was not hurt in this incident.
This attempted kidnapping has shaken the community.
“It was scary," said a neighbor who asked to have her identity anonymous. "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."
The community engagement officer from Redland Middle School responded to the incident after students told the bus driver what happened.
After the incident, Montgomery County Public Schools sent out a letter to families of students at Resnik Elementary, Redland Middle, and Magruder High schools --- which are all schools with bus stops in the area --- to inform them of what happened and what safety measures they're taking.
"There will continue to be an increased security presence by both MCPS and MCPD today and tomorrow at the impacted bus stop," the letter said, in part.
Jartu Toweh has an infant child who is not yet in school, but this incident makes her start making safety plans ahead of time.
"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."
Police told 7News that Germany and the victim did not know each other.
However, Germany is well known to the community and has caused problems for them in recent days.
"I have a high school student, and she catches the bus early in the morning, and apparently he was at the bus stop last week doing the same thing," one anonymous neighbor told 7News.
Three other neighbors who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation told 7News that Germany has threatened and yelled at them in the past few days, and even tried kicking in a door.
7News tried getting Germany's side of the story. He was not home when we knocked on his door. We reached out to family members over the phone, and they did not want to comment on the situation.
MCPD believes this is an isolated incident, but is asking that anyone with additional information about Germany or anyone who believes they may also be a victim of Germany to call 240-773-5400.