Attempted kidnapping suspect arrested; second attempt at Mission Valley mall reported
UPDATE: Man suspected in two attempted kidnappings near Mission Valley mall
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A 42-year-old man suspected of attempting to kidnap a child in the Mission Valley mall area was arrested Thursday, the same day a second attempt was reported, authorities said.
Rene Lujan, of San Diego, was arrested on suspicion of Tuesday’s attempted kidnapping, Lt. Daniel Meyer with the San Diego Police Department said during a press conference on Thursday.
The first attempt happened around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday near Buffalo Wild Wings in Mission Valley when a woman was walking next to her daughter, who was pushing her younger sibling in a stroller, and a man started following the family, police said. The man then grabbed the six-year-old and attempted to walk away with the girl, police said. The victim was able to scream and cry, prompting the suspect to release the girl and take off westbound through the mall and into a vehicle, according to police.
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Police were able to get a description of the suspect vehicle as a black 2013 Chevy Volt with a license plate number of “7VBS762.” With that information, authorities received an alert on Thursday from its license plate technology system and made a stop on State Route 94 near Home Avenue to arrest the suspect.
On Thursday just after 2 p.m., another attempted kidnapping happened near the inflatable kid play area in the Mission Valley mall parking lot, where a man described as around 5 foot 10 and about 160 pounds with a beard and glasses attempted to carry a five-year-old girl away and put her into a vehicle, according to police. He was last seen wearing an orange and white shirt and tan shorts.
Police say the suspect description is similar to the suspect in Tuesday’s incident. Meyer did not confirm if the two attempted kidnappings were related.
“This is pretty rare, especially when you talk about this type of case in itself occurring twice in the same location, potentially by the same suspect or someone who looks just like the previous suspect,” Meyer said.
Anyone with information on either case is asked to call SDPD’s Eastern Division at 858-495-7900 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
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