4 Michigan Girls Escape Kidnapping Attempt by Dousing Suspect with Hot Coffee

According to police, the suspect followed the girls out of a convenience store and grabbed two of them.

“Seeing that your little sister was going to get [taken] is very scary,” 13-year-old Lauren Eickhoff said of her reaction after the suspect allegedly tried to take her 11-year-old sister, Allison, she told Flint news stationWJRT.

Police quickly arrested a suspect, 22-year-old Bruce Hipkins, of Millington.

He currently is being held in the Tuscola County jail with a $250,000 bond on five charges that include kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal sexual conduct assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, PEOPLE confirms.

Tuscola County Sheriff’s Office

The incident occurred about 10 p.m. Friday when the girls, all of them students between 6th and 8th grades, were leaving a Speedway gas station convenience store in Millington, according to a police statement.

The girls then ran into the Millington Inn and police were called.

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Allison Eickhoff described what happened.

“He said, ‘You’re coming with me.’ And like, he grabbed my face,” she told WJRT. “This cannot be happening; I thought it was a test at first, but then I’m like, ‘This is real.'”

Her sister Lauren said: “I grabbed my drink and chucked it at his head. I tried — I punched him in the head.”

It could not be determined whether Hipkins had entered a plea or obtained an attorney who might speak on his behalf.

The district attorney said the girls deserve “extraordinary credit” for their response and the way they swiftly sought help.

source: people.com