DALLAS — Editors Note: The Dallas Police Department gave an update on August 21 that their investigation had concluded, and it was determined that no attempted kidnapping offense occurred and no charges have been filed. The headline of this story has been updated to reflect the new details given by Dallas police, which you can read here.
An attempted kidnapping was reported in Far North Dallas on Monday afternoon on August 12th, police said.
The alleged incident happened around 2:40 p.m. in the 16900 block of Old Pond Drive in Dallas, which is near Campbell and Hillcrest roads, according to a release from police.
Police said a group of children was outside when "they were approached by a young Hispanic male in a white SUV, asking one of the children to look at something in the back of his vehicle."
In an interview with WFAA, Melissa Ashby of Dallas said her 16-year-old son was the young man seen chasing the child in the video. Ashby, who said her son has autism and struggles with social boundaries, said it was all a misunderstanding.
"We live in a world where everything is on camera, and not everything is what it first appears to be," Ashby said. "It's really been hard, because the narrative out there is that my son is an attempted abductor, and I know it’s not true."
According to Ashby, her son and a friend were visiting a friend's home next to where the children played outside.
"My son is very friendly and said, 'You look like you’d be really great at playing football, and the little boy told him to F-off," Ashby said. "He got out of the car and had the intention of telling the boy you shouldn’t talk like that. It’s really hurtful that the other mom was unwilling to talk to me. I reached out to her several times"
Witnesses told police that the child ran away, and Ashby's son chased the child "a short distance," according to the release. Ashby's son then left the area.
Police in the release on Tuesday posted several images of the SUV they were looking for, a white Toyota Four-Runner. Police said a second vehicle that was possibly involved was a dark-color Chevrolet pickup truck.
Dallas detectives said they've identified all the individuals involved and they're all minors. No arrests have been made and they don't believe there is a threat to the public.
In the days following the incident, the story has made local and national headlines.
"Do not jump the gun," Ashby said. "
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