Police Seek Man Accused of Trying to Abduct 8-Year-Old Boy in Oklahoma City
— -- Police in Oklahoma City have released surveillance photos showing the moment a stranger picked up an 8-year-old boy at an arena in the state's fairgrounds.
Police shared the photos on Facebook on Monday in the hopes of identifying and interviewing the man seen in them, who is accused of attempted child abduction by the 8-year-old boy's father, according to Sgt. Gary Knight, an assistant public information officer for the Oklahoma City Police Department.
Knight told ABC News today that the department has received several tips but has not yet confirmed the suspect's identity as of this morning.
The incident happened on Jan. 6, when the boy in the photo was at a wrestling tournament at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, Knight said.
The boy's father said his son was standing to the left of the arena's main entrance when a man walked behind his son, picked him up and "held him onto his hip," according to a police report obtained by ABC News.
The father said the suspect started "walking towards the main entrance to leave with" the boy but the 8-year-old "began kicking and screaming to let him go," the report said.
The suspect then "dropped his son onto the ground" and exited the arena, the report added.
The responding police officer asked the boy's father if he thought there was "a possibility of confusion," if the suspect could have mistaken the boy for his own son, according to the report.
The father responded that he believed the suspect "was trying to kidnap his son," the report said.
Knight told ABC News that investigators are looking into "all possibilities, including possibilities that the man seen in the photos could or could not have been trying to abduct the child."
"What we see in the photos is certainly suspicious, but we certainly want to talk to the person involved and find out more," Knight said.
The Oklahoma City Police Department wrote on Facebook that anyone with information about the incident or suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300 or to leave a tip online at www.okccrimetips.com. The department added, "You can remain anonymous and may earn [a] cash reward."
