CHARLOTTE, NC — A walk home from school quickly became a little boy’s run for his life.
“He got out of his car and ran after me, and so I ran down the hill,” said the seven-year-old.
His mother, Ebony McArthur, asked us to hide her son’s identity for his safety.
“Of all the things that could possibly happen to a family, it’s probably the scariest thing we’ve ever been through,” said McArthur.
Her son says a suspicious car followed his school bus to the stop near Wednesbury Blvd. and North Tryon St. Tuesday.
Several kids got out… but the stranger targeted the seven-year-old.
He says he was walking down the sidewalk when a car drove in front of him, and the driver said, ‘Come here.’ The little boy kept waking, but the driver did it again.
“He yelled the first time when he said it, and he yelled louder the second time and got out of his car and took off after me.”
He says the stranger gave up before he made it to his home where his teenage sister waited with him until their dad, Damon McArthur, arrived.
“It’s definitely scary. It’s definitely a different scenario, especially as a father,” said Damon. “You’re supposed to be the protector of your home.”
This is the second close encounter in the metro area this week. Thursday, WCCB reported that a man driving a white car in Mooresville tried to lure two little boys in with candy. That father had surveillance video of the car.
In the Charlotte case, the child told police the man drove a four door silver car with pink writing spray painted or scribbled on the side. It had a South Carolina tag.
The little boy noticed the car following his school bus before the children stepped off. He was ready to run.
“My mother and father actually taught me that,” said the child. “That every time a stranger comes after you, you need to run and scream.”
His mother says she is thankful her son heard that lesson, because it may have saved his life.
