13-year-old suspected of trying to kidnap 2 women in Florida golf community, cops say
A surprising arrest has been made in connection with two attempted kidnappings at a “premiere golf community” in Florida: The suspect is 13 years old, officials say.
He was arrested Tuesday, July 9, with the help of tips from neighbors in the Pointe West golf development near Vero Beach, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. McClatchy News is not identifying the suspect because he has not been charged as an adult.
Investigators say evidence implicates the boy in one case and he is a suspect in the other, which occurred days earlier. Both times, the suspect “presented a knife,” Sheriff Eric Flowers said at a news conference posted on YouTube by WPTV.
“We asked him, is it sexual? What is it? Why is it that you do this?” Flowers said.
“His story was that he felt like he was in a dream-like state. That he was watching himself from above. That he didn’t know if it was real or it was a dream. And even when his mom confronted him, he would not say what his purpose was or why he did it,” the sheriff said in the conference.
The attempted kidnappings occurred July 2 and July 7, news outlets report, and video of the latter incident (occurring around 12:15 a.m.) resulted in the boy being charged with one count of attempted kidnapping, officials said.
“Both incidents happened after dark and involved an unidentified masked male approaching women,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “The male attempted to assault the women, but ran off when they yelled for help and physically pushed him away.”
The surveillance video recorded July 7 shows the suspect “stalking” his victim, Flowers told WPBT.
“He’s hiding behind cars. He’s trying to follow her and then he approaches her from behind up on her porch,” the sheriff said.
The Pointe West development includes five neighborhoods combined with an 18-hole golf course and private country club, according to Pointewestverobeach.com. It’s located an about 100-mile drive southeast from Orlando.
This story was originally published July 11, 2024 at 9:33 AM with the headline "13-year-old suspected of trying to kidnap 2 women in Florida golf community, cops say."