Glendale parents, police and school officials on high alert following kidnapping attempts

Glendale parents were on edge Thursday morning following two brazen child-abduction attempts near local schools the night before, roughly 20 minutes apart and three days into the new school year.

A private security guard stood outside the drop-off gate at John Marshall Elementary School, while a Glendale police officer circled the campus on a motorcycle and additional faculty members, including the district superintendent, stood around the school.

Investigators, meanwhile, released surveillance footage of the first attempted abduction and asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, who drove a silver 2014-16 Nissan Versa Note.

The grainy video shows a mother pushing the suspect away after the stranger reached into her stroller.

“We want our parents, as well as our adults on campus, to exercise vigilance,” said Glendale Unified Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr., advising students to walk in pairs and groups, and to find an adult or safe place if they believe they’re being followed. “Safety is our top priority.”

On Wednesday evening, every family in the district received an automated phone call notifying them of the incidents.

Glendale parent Diana Avila walked her 6-year-old son to school Thursday morning clutching mace in one hand, her son’s hand in the other.

“It squirts strangers,” said her son, first-grader Jayce Avila. “You will be blind for a few minutes.”

Another parent, Catrina Gordon, planned to walk around the campus for a couple hours after dropping off her daughter.

“I was scared. I was really scared, actually, when I heard about it. Now, I’m on the defense,” Gordon said, adding that she felt safer with a security guard stationed on campus. “I’m still going to be walking around to see if I see anybody.”

Diana Avila was struck by the boldness of the one or two suspects, who attempted the back-to-back abductions in an area where she said there’s a large police presence.

“That person must have been very desperate, or not from around here,” she said.

The first incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday, when a mother was pushing her infant in a stroller near Chevy Chase Drive and Adams Street.

A suspect, described as a Hispanic woman with short, thick hair who wore heavy winter clothing, parked her car in a red zone and approached the mother, said Glendale Police Sgt. Robert William.

“He’s so cute,” the suspect said of the baby, before trying to lift him up. The baby, however, was buckled into the stroller.

The suspect then hurriedly attempted to unbuckle the strap, but the mother pushed the suspect away. After the brief struggle, the suspect walked back to her silver four-door hatchback and drove off.

The license plate possibly started with “7HY,” police said.

About 20 minutes later and a mile away, outside John Marshall Elementary School, an 8-year-old boy called police to report that a woman with a man’s voice tried to steal his 2-year-old brother.

The suspect had pulled up to a curb and walked up to the family, picking up the child and saying, “He’s so cute,” police said. The child’s mother slapped or punched the suspect’s arm, after which the suspect put the child down, walked back to a four-door silver sedan and drove away.

The child’s mother described the stranger as a man in his late 40s or 50s, with salt-and-pepper hair and a two-day-old beard, wearing a gray T-shirt with a colorful design on the front, William said.

While the suspect descriptions are different, police said there’s no indication two people were in the car.

Glendale parent Leonard Davis, a single father of two, said on his way to school Thursday that he tells his young sons to avoid strangers.

“Who picks you up at the gate?” Davis asked his 5-year-old.

“You,” his son Junior said.

“If somebody else comes for you, are you going to go with them?”

“No.”

“These guys will scream, kick, fight, everything,” Davis said.

Anyone with information about the kidnapping attempts is asked to call (818) 937-8596, a tip line created for the case.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek