A 7-year-old girl who was walking home in downtown Atlanta is safe after she narrowly escaped a kidnapping, thanks to her older sister and a friend, ages 12 and 9, who helped fight off the suspect, CBS Atlanta reports.
The girl's mother, who asked not to be identified by name to protect her daughters, told the news outlet that a man driving a black truck approached the girls and asked where they were going. The man then allegedly pulled over, got out of the car and grabbed the 7-year-old in an attempt to get her in his car. He also reportedly put his hand over the girl's mouth to stop her from screaming.
"My oldest daughter -- the 12-year-old -- and the other kid, they pulled her other arm to keep her from getting in the car," the mother told CBS Atlanta. "Once they broke free, they all ran."
Read the full story at CBS Atlanta.
Though the girls are undoubtedly fortunate, they also aren't the only children in the area who've managed to escape a potential kidnapping attempt by fighting back.
In February, a 7-year-old was nearly abducted from a Walmart in Atlanta . The girl kicked and screamed until the man put her down, ABC News reports. The incident was caught on surveillance video.
Last month, another attempted kidnapping was caught on tape in Philadelphia. A 10-year-old girl was walking with her 2-year-old brother when a man pulled over his car and attempted to snatch her from the sidewalk. According to NBC Nightly News, the the boy's screams may have been instrumental in getting the man to let go. The girl also fought back with moves her parents said she learned from watching "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."
Nancy McBride, a representative from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, told NBC that parents should talk with their children about what to do when they're faced with these types of situations.
"Parents and guardians need to sit down, practice these safety scenarios with their kids and reassure them that they are strong and that they can get away," McBride said.