Two arrested in Queens attempted child abductions

QUEENS VILLAGE (WABC) -- Police in Queens Village have arrested two suspects wanted in connection with two attempted abductions of young children on Wednesday.

Joshua Wright, 17, of Queens, and Andrew Ghulam, 16, of Queens, have been charged with two counts each of attempted unlawful imprisonment; endangering the welfare of a child; criminal possession of a weapon; and harassment.

The first incident took place on Wednesday near 111th Avenue and 208th Street. An 11-year-old girl was returning home from school when she noticed a dark green SUV following her.

Police say a man was driving the vehicle, and another man was in the passenger seat. The passenger exited the SUV while wearing a black mask and attempted to talk to the victim. The victim ran away, and the suspects fled the scene in the SUV.

Shortly after the first incident, a 10-year-old girl and two 11-year-old girls noticed they were being followed by a green Jeep Cherokee. The driver passed a firearm to the passenger and the passenger then pulled a mask over his face before exiting the SUV.

The man got back into the vehicle, and the girls hid. But the men went on to another group of girls several blocks away.

The victims fled the scene, and hid behind a parked vehicle as the suspects drove by. The suspects then circled back before leaving the scene in the SUV.

Police were canvassing the area after the abduction attempts and spotted a vehicle fitting the description of the dark-green SUV they were looking for. They pulled the car over and took the men into custody.

The girls showed street smarts that may have saved their lives.

"I didn't really want to be there. I wanted to run," said one of the victims Thursday night. "He kept on saying come here ... I ran."

When the SUV with two men pulled up alongside the girls, and one got out, "I just ran ... [and] found a grown up I saw," another victim said.