A Florida mom is warning parents to talk to their children after a surveillance camera captured her daughter running from a car.
The sixth grader, who asked to remain anonymous, was walking home from Freedom Middle School on May 9 when she noticed a man in a black car following her.
According to WBAL11, she recalled:
“He’s like, old-looking, and he has a camera in his hand and he’s smiling at me and telling, with his finger, telling me to come here.”
In response, the middle schooler said she was instantly uncomfortable. So, she began running from the vehicle toward her apartment complex.
She said:
“I run and he’s still following me, and when he’s still following me, I’m about over there, and I’m running and crying and screamingHelp me,’ so someone could come and stuff.”
Surveillance footage shows the car attempting to follow her into the lot of the complex, WBALTV11 reports.
The student’s mother said:
“I could sense my daughter was scared by the way she was running. I’ve never seen her run like that before.”
The mom added that actually seeing the encounter on video was especially frightening.
She said:
“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare to see something like that, and to know that there’s people out there watching children like that, to try to take them or do whatever they want to do with them.”
Now, she’s telling other parents to warn their children to be aware of their surroundings.
She advised:
“Talk to your kids. Let them know stuff like this can happen. You may not think it can or will, but it does happen.”
The family said they’ve filed a police report. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reportedly said it is investigating the matter.