Police: Man attempted to kidnap female student walking to school in Northwest DC

WASHINGTON - Police say they are searching for a man who tried to abduct a D.C. student on her way to school Monday morning.

The attempted kidnapping incident happened at around 8:05 a.m. in the 3700 block of Davenport Street in Northwest D.C., according to police.

Police say the victim was walking on the sidewalk when the suspect grabbed her from behind and lifted her off of the ground in a bear hug. The girl was able to escape and ran away towards her school after a brief struggle with the man.

The female student attends Deal Middle School. Principal Diedre Neal sent a letter to parents regarding the incident:

Dear Parents and Families of Deal Middle School,

The well-being of your children is of the utmost importance to us. Communicating with you about issues as they arise is a large part of being good partners to our community.

This morning, one of our students reported being accosted by an unknown person while walking to school. The incident was immediately reported to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). While MPD investigates, my team and I are exploring temporary and long-term solutions to ensure our students' safety when traveling to and from school.

I wanted to inform you of this incident and assure you that the commitment to keeping your child safe is top priority for us all. If you have any questions, please call me at (202) 939-2010 or email via diedre.neal@dc.gov.

The suspect is described as a white male between 50 and 70 years old. He is about 5'7" tall with a skinny, but muscular build and has a full gray beard. He was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, black boots and a black hat rolled up on his head. He may be driving an older black car with tinted windows.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked call police at 202-727-9099 or by text message to the police department's text tip line at 50411.