An unknown couple is said to have tried to lure children to a car on the way to school – according to a Whatsapp message shared in Hamm. Parents contacted police on Friday. This sees no evidence of a crime.
(Update Friday, 3 p.m.) Hamm – A message is spreading like wildfire among parents in Hamm via Whatapp: a couple is said to have lured children to a car near the Ketteler school and gave them toys. That was reported to the police. The message contains the request to sensitize your own children so that they do not get into strangers’ cars.
At the moment we have no indication that anyone has planned a crime here.
A mother reported to the police on Thursday and five other parents on Friday, police spokesman Hendrik Heine reported on Friday afternoon. The parents explained that a man and a woman approached children and parents near the school. Some parents were there. A delivery truck was parked nearby. It is unclear what color he was, most witnesses reported a dark model. The license plate is not known to the police.
The couple gave some children toys. “It looks like a promotion or marketing thing,” says Heine. None of the police witnesses reported that the man and woman tried to lure children to or into the van. “We can’t rule anything out,” says Heine, “but at the moment we have no indication that anyone has planned a crime here.”
School guardianship: Several children report that the couple approached them
The school guardianship of the Ketteler School had heard from children in different classes that the couple had approached them. The teachers spoke to the students on Thursday about not getting into the car with strangers. Some of the students were unsettled, according to the school board.
On Thursday it was said that there was a similar incident at Maximilian School. A father had spoken to his child because of the scary Whatsapp from the Ketteler School. It said an elderly man brought it up that week. The father reported himself to the police.
This questioned the child on Friday. “The questioning showed that the child fell with the scooter. The older man probably just wanted to help,” says a police spokesman.
Police are asking parents to report incidents
The police asks parents to report promptly if their child is approached by strangers: by calling 02381/9160 or by email to [email protected]. Perhaps it can still be clarified where the couple at the Ketteler School came from. This is not yet known.
