'Stranger Danger' In Arlington After Violent Attempted Kidnapping

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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW) - Neighbors in East Arlington are on edge as they wait for a breakthrough in an attempted kidnapping case. It happened Wednesday night on Gilbert Circle near Highway 360, and the target was a teenaged girl.

She was jogging down the street when two men with a knife tried to grab her. She was able to escape down that street - and so far, the suspects have been able to escape arrest.

In the neighborhood, parents gripped their children's hands a little tighter on the way to and from school Thursday. The news of a violent attempted kidnapping close to several schools has them unnerved.

"Going to keep watching the kids, watching all the cars, making sure we know who the people are around here," says neighbor Sandra Zelenek.

The two men Wednesday night were apparently strangers to the girl, a student at Sam Houston High School. They jumped out of a dark blue SUV, one of them carrying a knife.

"That's awful, that's awful. Suppose they would have got her," says neighbor Delores Edward.

Before she escaped, she caught a possible partial license plate: C-W-8. She ran to an apartment complex just down the road.

"It's scary being a young girl as is without the threat of being thrown into a car at any moment," says neighbor Halley Toft, who is expecting her first child early next year. "That's terrifying."

One witness heard the girl screaming but didn't see anyone. Now police are canvassing the area and talking to neighbors. Those neighbors say they'll remain uneasy until there's an arrest.

"I have to be on my guard all the time," says Toft.

The Arlington Independent School District sent a letter home to parents in 3 area schools letting them know what happened and discouraging them from letting students walk alone.

If you have any information, you're asked to call Arlington police.

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