Ballard mom warns of attempted child luring incident at Fred Meyer store

SEATTLE -- A  Ballard mom is warning others after she says a man tried to lure her 9-year-old daughter repeatedly while at the Fred Meyer store.

The mother of two shares her story in hopes that people are aware of their surroundings and talk to their kids about strangers.

“He said, 'Hey little girl, you want a beer?'” said Jennifer, a Ballard mom who didn’t want to reveal her last name.

“I would say he was trying to entice her and asked her if she wanted three different items as a means to entice her and lure her closer,” said Jennifer.

Jennifer says, fortunately, her daughter firmly said no and disengaged, but the interaction Sunday scared them enough to call Seattle police.

“He was really scary looking at him, he just scared me not just because he interacted with my daughter inappropriately, but he just gave off a really scary vibe,” said Jennifer.

Jennifer says her initial concern was that officers didn’t respond right away, but Seattle Police say that’s because the incident was not a clear, immediate threat.

“In this case, the girl did the right thing she said no, she walked away, there was no more threat to her. The man had already left the building and the threat there was gone,” said Seattle Police detective Patrick Michaud.

However, Jennifer took her concerns to social media, posting pictures of the man to warn others. It’s now been shared more than 2,000 times.

“I view social media as a contemporary approach to block watches, just a way to get information out to people,” said Jennifer.

It’s information she wants to share so others don’t experience the terrifying moments she did.

“I only have one data point, he was inappropriate with my daughter and he tried to lure and entice her in ways I hope no other parent have to find out about.”

As for Fred Meyer, Jennifer says they did the right thing. We reached out to them and they referred us to Seattle Police Department.