Students Stop Attempted Kidnapping While Waiting For School Bus
The Police Tribune
Posted On March 23, 2023
Gaithersburg, MD – A group of students helped fend off an attacker who attempted to kidnap a fellow student at a school bus stop on Monday morning.
The incident occurred in the 17600-block of Towne Crest Drive at approximately 7:20 a.m. on March 20, the Montgomery County Police Department (MGPD) said in a press release later that day.
The juvenile victim was standing with other students at a bus stop when a man “allegedly grabbed the child and pulled them toward an apartment building,” the MGPD said.
The victim’s fellow students immediately jumped in to stop the kidnapper.
“Several students who were standing at the bus stop attempted to intervene and the victim was able to break free,” the police department said.
The group of children boarded the bus when it pulled up to the stop and reported the attempted abduction when they got to Redland Middle School.
The MCPD Special Victims Investigations Division’s community engagement officer responded to the school at approximately 7:54 a.m.
Detectives ultimately identified 31-year-old Jamaal Germany as the suspect who allegedly tried to kidnap the student.
Germany was arrested later that day on charges of second-degree assault and attempted kidnapping and was transported to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.
A parent who lives near the bus stop told WRC the incident on Monday wasn’t the first time someone tried to abduct a child at the nearby local bus stop.
“Apparently he was at the bus stop last week doing the same thing,” the parent told the news outlet.
Germany also allegedly threatened and harassed another resident in the area several days earlier, WRC reported.
“I’m glad that he got caught and it’s very brave children that helped their fellow classmate,” resident Cindy Maldonado said.
MCPD detectives urged anyone who may have been victimized by Germany to contact the department immediately.
A letter was sent out to parents of Magruder High School, Resnik Elementary School, and Redland Middle School students letting them know that for the next couple of days, police would be providing extra security at the bus stop where the attempted kidnapping occurred, WRC reported.
