Cape Town - Police are investigating an attempted kidnapping at Mikro Primary School in Kuils River after an unknown woman was believed to have tried to snatch a Grade R child.
On Monday, police spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “A primary school principal reported the incident of an attempted abduction of a learner that occurred on Thursday, September 17.
“An inquiry has been registered and the circumstances surrounding the incident are currently being investigated by Kuils River FCS Unit.”
In a letter issued by the school, principal Louis Mouton said they were grateful for the proactive response by the teacher who had engaged with the unknown woman when she claimed to be collecting a child.
In a letter written in Afrikaans, Mouton detailed what happened when the woman arrived at the school.
“Just after 12.30pm, the Grade R pupils, as usual, waited on the inside of the school perimeter at Diederik Street, waiting for their parents to collect them.
“Staff were on duty under the lapa and at the turnstile.
“An adult woman, from outside the gate, said to one of the teachers that she was there to fetch a specific child,” the letter read.
The teacher contacted the mother of the child, who was allegedly to be fetched.
“The teacher immediately called the mother of the child on her cellphone to ask if she was aware of someone else being there to collect her child. The mother denied this and was already on her way to collect her child at school and was nearby.
“During this time the teacher kept her focus on all the children surrounding her and within a few seconds, and with the presence of a number of vehicles and parents in the road, the suspicious woman disappeared. She had already left by the time the parent arrived to collect the child,” the letter read.
The school reminded parents to communicate when they made alternative arrangements for their children to be fetched.
The Kuils River Community Policing Forum (CPF) was unreachable for comment at deadline.
Blue Downs CPF chairperson Julian Unthank said they had not experienced similar incidents in the area.
“We currently have the walking bus initiative in our area where parents monitor the routes to school. This may also be a deterrent to any suspicious activity,” said Unthank.
Anyone with information can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.
Cape Times