NJ mother 'scared' after daughter says she was nearly abducted on way to school

BERLIN TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- A New Jersey mother is speaking out after her daughter reported being nearly abducted on her way to school.

It happened around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday in the area of Washington and Grove avenues.

The 8-year-old girl was walking to John F. Kennedy Elementary School when she reported a man tried to grab her.

"I'm really upset. I'm scared now," said the mother who asked not to be identified.

READ MORE: Child may have fended off would-be abductor with pencil while walking to school in Berlin Twp., NJ

The second grader's mother says she usually watches her daughter walk down the street to school until she has to turn the corner. But on Wednesday her daughter came back.

"She was a little upset and she was crying," the mother recalled. "She told the other police officer he was hiding behind the tree."

The girl says she was able to fend off the man and may have stabbed him with a pencil. Police say the suspect may have a facial injury.

"He ran away very fast in the forest," the mother stated.

Detectives say the suspect has a dark beard and was last seen wearing black clothes and a baseball cap.

Neighbors were alarmed to hear about the incident and are now having some serious talks with their kids.

"You don't leave the front door, you don't leave the house without a parent," said Dottie Zentz of Berlin Twp.

Her mother says it's not unusual for her daughter to be carrying a pencil. She has gotten them as prizes at school.

Authorities are asking anyone with information, especially surveillance video, to contact the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.