WORCESTER, Mass. (WHDH)– A person in Worcester was spotted driving around a residential neighborhood and taking pictures of children.
“Obviously it’s disturbing,” said Fred Dibart, a longtime resident of the area.
These details follow similar reports in neighboring Leicester and Paxton over the past two days and another report in Leicester earlier this month. Each time, parents reported someone in a small black vehicle taking pictures of children or toys left out in front yards.
Update: Police say the man is a city worker doing his job. Click here for more.
“Just this morning we received three additional reports reporting a small, dark compact vehicle in neighborhoods recently, acting suspiciously. The one that came in probably five minutes ago, my email when I came in was a similar vehicle taking pictures in another neighborhood,” said Jim Hurley of the Leicester Police Department.
Fran Little lives on Park Lane where the suspicious picture taker was spotted Tuesday. He has accompanied his 12 and 14-year-old daughters to the bus stop ever since.
“I’m worried about one of the kids getting snatched, taking off somewhere, God knows what,” said Little.
But police say there may be an innocent explanation for all of this. The person taking the pictures may be a home appraiser, but until they know for sure, they’re warning parents to be cautious.
“As it appears there is, no crime has been committed, but we want to put our residents’ minds at ease about their children,” said Hurley.
Parents in the area said if the person taking pictures does have an innocent explanation, step forward and explain themselves.