2 Carpenter Students Foil Apparent Abduction Attempt at Beeman Park

Two Carpenter Community Charter School students were the apparent victims of an attempted kidnapping Sunday afternoon at Beeman Park, according to the school's principal, Joe Martinez, who issued a warning to parents in an e-mail.

"The children were playing basketball yesterday afternoon at about 5 p.m. when they were approached by a man in his late 50s who asked the children, 'Do you want to come see my sleeping dog in the car?' Our students managed to get away from the suspect without physical harm and reported the incident to one of the parents who was nearby," Martinez wrote.

The suspect is described as a tall Eastern European-looking man with salt-and-pepper, full-length hair. He was clean-shaven, wore glasses, black denim pants and a black leather jacket.

He was accompanied by a slender youth with black hair, approximately 12 years old, who was wearing tight jeans. They were both in a black SUV with bike racks attached to the back of the car.

The North Hollywood Division of the Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the incident. Anyone who noticed any suspicious activity is asked to report it to police.

Martinez warned, "I strongly encourage you to speak to your children about the general safety information they need to know when walking to and from school. In addition, take some time to discuss with your children what they should do if they are ever approached by a stranger." He also shared safety tips in his e-mail.

Did you see anything? First call the police. Then