BOSTON (WHDH) - Boston police are investigating after a 10-year-old boy said a man tried to kidnap him on his way to school Wednesday.
The boy told police he was walking down Sumner Street in East Boston shortly after 7:10 a.m. when he was approached by a man driving a gray minivan who stopped to say something to him, according to a release issued by the department.
The boy said that the suspect then got out of the car and attempted to grab him by the shoulders. He said he was able to break free of the man’s grasp and run away from the scene.
He described the possible suspect as a heavy-set white male, short in stature with gray hair and a shadowed beard who was wearing a black jacket, gray sweatpants.
Daryl Allen, who works in East Boston, says he is on high alert following this reported incident.
“I think the community’s going to band together and I think they’re going to get on top of this,” he said.
Anyone with information is urged to call police at 617-343-4234.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)