Community on alert after abduction scares

Local authorities in east Nicosia are on high alert following a number of parent complaints about a male suspect who has been approaching boys and girls after school.

According to local media, at least three incidents have been reported to school authorities and law enforcement following suspicious encounters between an unknown man and young children in Nicosia neighbourhoods near Aglandjia elementary school.

Police have received new information about an incident earlier this month, when an unknown adult male reportedly was following an 11-year-old girl and got out of his car to approach her as she was playing with other children outside her home.

The little girl then run inside and told her mother, who was called to a local police station on Thursday to give more details. The incident was said to have taken place on September 15.

In the last few days, police also received complaints about two similar encounters with young children, where a man reportedly drove by young children outside their school.

In one case, the unknown male was quoted as telling a child “your dad told me to come and get you” while he asked in another incident whether a child’s uncle was coming to pick them up.

Media reports later clarified there had been no allegations of any actual abduction attempts, while it was not clear whether authorities believe the same man was involved in all incidents.

The school administration said they had alerted parents and school authorities about the incidents, while also notifying the police who are sifting through CCTV camera footage for possible leads in the case.