14-year-old screams in middle of night when man grabs her through window, NC mom says

A 14-year-old was sleeping when a man reached into her window in North Carolina, according to her mom.

Tanisha Washington said it was just after 2 a.m. on Oct. 28 when she heard her teen daughter scream.

“I knew something was wrong, and I knew that she was scared,” she told McClatchy News in a phone interview on Wednesday. “It’s like in a horror film when you know (they’re) terrified.”

Washington said she rushed into her daughter’s room to find her curtain pulled back and window raised. Outside, she found a chair beneath the window of the one-story home in Winston-Salem, the mom said.

The 14-year-old girl had been sleeping with a window cracked open before the incident, according to Washington and a Winston-Salem police document. Officers on Wednesday released photos of a person of interest, whose identity is unknown.

North Carolina police shared photos of a person they say was caught on camera near a reported burglary.
North Carolina police shared photos of a person they say was caught on camera near a reported burglary.

The Winston-Salem Police Department said it received an initial report that a child was grabbed through a bedroom window. In another interview, investigators discovered the suspect came into contact with the child’s hand but didn’t try to take her from the home, according to a public record release that was shared Wednesday.

“Detectives have been unable to determine the true intentions of the suspect and confirm whether the suspect was frightened, after making contact with the juvenile and learning the residence was occupied and fled the scene or if the suspect had further criminal motive,” officials said.

The case is classified in police records as a burglary. In the same neighborhood, officers found evidence of a car break-in and moved patio furniture on the night the child was grabbed, according to police.

“I just want them to find somebody and just catch them so she can feel safe in her home again,” Washington said.

People with information are asked to call police at 336-773-7700 or CrimeStoppers at 336-727-2800.