A quick-thinking mother foils a brazen kidnapping attempt.
The mother had her child with her during meet the teacher night at the International Leadership of Texas school in North Richland Hills on Tuesday evening when a man allegedly tried luring the child from her.
"He came up to the child and put his arm around the child to usher the child away from his parent," says Carissa Katekaru, spokeswoman for the North Richland Hills Police Department. "This mother was very quick thinking, very observant, and she immediately jumped into action. She was able to pull her child back and alerted a school official."
The school official called police, and police arrested Kevin Ward, 31, outside the school without incident.
"He was charged with unlawful restraint/less than 17 years of age, which is a felony, and his bond was set at $150,000," says Katekaru.
It's unclear why Ward was even at the school in the first place.
"We believe Mr. Ward has no known connection to the school or anyone in it," Katekaru says. "He did not have a child with him. He was just seen walking the halls alone."
Katekaru says the woman's actions that night were nothing short of heroic.
"This particular incident is a testimony to being observant and the old adage that you hear -- if you see something say something," says Katekaru, "which is exactly what that mother did."
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