He's trying to stay pretty close to the adults who love him, but a few days ago, he was all on his own. And the young man from Richmond Hills showed he could handle himself just fine.
"The guy just pulled over and he asked me, and then he lowered the window," the boy said. "And then he just asked me to come in and I started to say no because I didn't want to go with that guy."
And that feeling may have saved his life. The 11-year-old was waiting for his dad to pick him up after school on Friday in Kissena Corridor Park in Flushing.
He described the man to police, who produced a sketch. When the boy said he didn't want to go with him, the man got out of his car.
"And then, when I said no he got angry and started pulling me," he said. "I started pulling back. I didn't want to go with that guy."
Just as the man started to get violent, the boy's father showed up.
"I waved at my dad so he could see me, and the guy noticed," he said. "And then he left as if nothing happened."
Police say the man they're looking for is 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 with short black hair and a goatee. The child's mother is just happy her son fought back.
"I'm really proud of him," she said. "I all the time tell him that he doesn't have to speak with strangers."
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS.
