A community is in shock after two men tried to kidnap an 18-year-old woman in suburban Evanston on Monday. Evrod Cassimy has the frightening story.
EDITORIAL NOTE: The woman at the center of this story has now been charged with fabricating the kidnapping attempt, according to Evanston police. That story can be found here.
A community is in shock after two men tried to kidnap an 18-year-old woman in suburban Evanston on Monday.
According to authorities, the incident occurred in the 1200 block of Fowler Avenue just before 4 p.m.
The woman told police that she had been walking in the neighborhood on her way to work when she saw a gray four-door sedan driving towards her. That car parked across the street, and two individuals got out of the car and walked up to her.
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Police say the suspects then grabbed the teen and picked her up.
She was able to fight back and to free herself, and ran to a nearby shop where she works, according to police.
Tsedeke Handero, who lives nearby, expressed shock at the incident.
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“It’s disturbing. I’ve never heard of things like this around here,” Handero said. “This is the first time.”
Sgt. Sophia Syed says that the teen is shaken by the incident, and that police are working as hard as they can to investigate and bring the suspects into custody.
“It is obviously something that was, I can only imagine, very frightening for her,” she said. “It is something that is very frightening for the community, so we’re doing our best to get it wrapped up as soon as we can.”
“It makes you think twice when you let your kids go outside,” resident Kyle Mason added.
Police are seeking out home surveillance footage of the incident, as they have only released a vague description of the suspects. One was wearing a gray hoodie, black pants and a black ski mask, while the other was wearing all black clothing and a black ski mask.
Authorities are also advising residents to do exactly what the teen did: fight back if they are in a similar situation.
“We would advise if you are in a situation where you may be abducted and taken to another place to fight for your safety, make noise, try to get away, attract attention to yourself,” Syed said. “Those are the types of things where hopefully someone would feel they should call the police and come to assist you.”
