A man has been charged after allegedly attempting to abduct a child from an elementary school in Chilliwack Wednesday morning.
The man attempted to abduct a 7-year-old girl from the school grounds of Chilliwack Central Elementary School just after 9am yesterday.
“A man had allegedly attempted to remove the child from school property before a concerned citizen intervened and brought the child back to the school,” reads a release from the department.
The child was fortunately uninjured.
A man matching the description was located nearby not long after the incident. Joel McGillis has been charged with kidnapping a person under 16 years of age.
Police say McGillis and the child do not know each other and believe the incident was isolated.
“Chilliwack RCMP is taking this incident extremely seriously. The safety of children in our community is a key priority, and we recognize how concerning this type of event is for families,” said Supt. Darren Pankratz, Officer in Charge of the Chilliwack RCMP.
“We are working closely with the school district as this investigation continues, and we thank the members of the public who assisted in ensuring the child’s safety and helping police quickly locate and arrest the suspect.”
Anyone who observed an individual wearing a “purple bunny-like mask” is asked to come forward and speak with investigators.
McGillis remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on May 15th.
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