ROSEVILLE (WWJ) - Roseville residents are on high alert after a elementary school child was approached by an unknown man and offered candy and playtime with his grandchild on their way to school this week.
The Roseville Police Department said they were notified of the incident on Thursday, February 26, after the child declined the man's offers and authorities were contacted.
As reported by WXYZ, police have set up patrols in the area where the child was approached, roughly a mile between Joseph G. Elementary Schools and Fountain Elementary School.
Parents in the area expressed concerns about how close the incident was to a major freeway, I-696.
"The expressway is right there, so if somebody did snatch up a little kid... it’s one straight shot and one right turn and boom, they’re gone," local resident Johnna Drappeaux told WXYZ.
The incident remains under police investigation at this time. Anyone with any information has been asked to call the department at 586-775-2100.
The incident comes a week after the Bloomfield Township Police Department said two middle school aged students were approached by a strange man while walking home from the bus stop.
The children were in the area of Peabody Drive and Tall Oaks Road around 3:45 p.m. on Feb. 14 when a suspicious vehicle approached them.
The male driver pulled up next to the children and asked if either of them had a phone. The students felt uncomfortable and ran home without speaking to the man. They told their parents what happened, who then contacted authorities.