Toronto police are looking to identify a man following the attempted abduction of a nine-year-old boy in Thorncliffe Park this morning.
It happened in the area of Thorncliffe Park Drive and Overlea Boulevard shortly before 9 a.m.
According to police, the boy, who is a student at Thorncliffe Park Public School, was walking to school when he was approached by an unknown man who grabbed him by the shoulder.
The child was able to break the man’s grasp and run to school.
Later, when leaving for lunch, the boy was again approached by the same man, police said. He was able to return to the school where he informed a teacher about the man.
The man is described as brown, in his 40s or early 50s, six feet tall, with short, light brown hair, short facial hair near his chin and a moustache.
He was last seen wearing a white shirt, dark zip-up jacket, black Adidas pants, Nike shoes, and a black hat which had an orange circular symbol on it.
In a written statement released Wednesday, the Toronto District School Board said the boy did the right thing by telling an adult he could trust.
"Once the school was made aware of the incidents yesterday, it called police immediately and notified other schools in the area. A letter will be going home to parents today to provide them with more information and street-proofing tips for students," the statement continued.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
