‘This guy is trying to kidnap me’: 9-year-old shares scary encounter while leaving school

KAILUA, Hawaii (KHNL/KGMB/Gray News) - A 9-year-old boy says someone was trying to kidnap him while he was on his way to a friend’s house after school.

Noam Burcerril, 9, said the incident happened on Friday when he was riding his bike on the Kaelepulu Stream bridge at Kailua Beach Park.

According to KHNL/KGMB, Noam said a truck stopped beside him when he was crossing the bridge with a person inside the vehicle telling him to come to his truck.

The 9-year-old said he didn’t know the man, so he turned in the opposite direction and rode back toward the school.

“My friend was over there, and I was like, ‘Can you call my mom? This guy is trying to kidnap me,’” Noam said.

The friend at the park was Emily Hellman, the mother of another student who goes to school with Noam.

“As we were talking, the truck that he had described circled back around, and he [Noam] quickly said, ‘That’s the truck!’ And then he ran away. He was really scared at that time,” Hellman said.

Hellman said she called Noam’s mother, Julie Burcerril, who was waiting for him at the friend’s house.

“When he talked to us on the phone, he was crying,” Julie Burcerril said. “When we saw him, he was better, but he was very scared.”

One thing that seemed to help Noam was that the bike path he was on was separated from traffic on the bridge.

“If he got out of his truck, he has to go around [pointing toward Kailua town] while I could just go forward,” Noam said.

The boy’s school sent a letter to all parents after the incident, and Noam’s family said they have filed a police report.

“He did exactly what you should do: Go back, get an adult, someone that he knew, and we were able to get him help,” Hellman said.

The two mothers said they had never met before this incident but share a special bond now.

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