Parents in a Virginia neighborhood were left shaken after a man dressed in a bizarre pink costume allegedly chased a group of children walking home from the school bus and tried to grab a young girl in broad daylight.
According to the New York Post, the disturbing encounter unfolded around 4:30 p.m. on May 14 in Fredericksburg, where witnesses said the costumed suspect stalked children as they made their way through the neighborhood.
Video from the scene showed the individual wandering along a grassy roadside in an outfit described by residents as resembling the Pink Panther character.
One resident shared details of the frightening encounter in a Facebook post after the incident.
“This man stared down my son and one of the older neighbors from across the road. That’s when this picture was snapped,” the resident wrote.
According to the post, several children had just stepped off their school bus when the suspect suddenly moved toward them.
“When scarlet and a little neighbor girl got off the bus, he chased after all 4 kids and tried to grab the little girl (slowest), her sister pulled her away, and they got away,” the resident said.
The children managed to escape before the suspect could allegedly reach them.
Witnesses said the situation may have ended differently if not for a passing vehicle that interrupted the encounter.
“A car drove by them, and he turned and ran away,” the Facebook post stated.
Another witness claimed they saw what happened but were unable to intervene in time.
The person wrote that they observed the apparent attempted abduction but could not stop their car quickly enough to help the children.
Residents in the area expressed alarm over the incident, particularly because it occurred in the middle of the afternoon while children were returning home from school.
The suspect’s unusual outfit also drew attention, with neighbors describing the bright pink costume as cartoonish and unsettling.
No additional details about the suspect or possible arrests were immediately available.
