DUBAI // Parents have been urged to stress the “stranger danger” message to their children after the attempted abduction of a primary school pupil from a mall.
Those with children at Jebel Ali Primary School were told of the incident, involving a blonde woman, on the school’s Facebook page on Wednesday although the post was later taken down.
The child is believed to have been unharmed in the incident, which took place on Tuesday at Ductac, a community theatre in the Mall of the Emirates.
“Dear parents, unfortunately there was an incident yesterday involving a Jebel Ali student who was almost abducted from the Ductac area of Mall of the Emirates,” said the Facebook post from the school’s acting head teacher, Ann Jones.
“The incident has been reported to Dubai Police. However, please be aware a blonde woman was involved. Please reiterate to your children about stranger danger.”
No one from the school could be contacted on Thursday but management at the Mall of the Emirates confirmed the incident took place.
“Mall of the Emirates would like to reassure its guests that safety is our utmost priority,” it said.
“The mall has visible and accessible presence of security across all public areas, in addition to monitoring cameras, which are operating 24/7.
“The student from Jebel Ali School is well and safe. The alleged incident is being reviewed by Dubai Police for further investigation and we are lending our full support to the authorities.”
nhanif@thenational.ae