Girl stabs attacker in face to stop abduction attempt in New Jersey: Officials

Detectives in Berlin Township, New Jersey, are searching for a man they said tried to abduct a girl while she was walking to school.

According to the Camden County Prosecutors Office, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, officers from the Berlin Police Department responded to the John F. Kennedy Elementary School located at 228 Mt. Vernon Avenue after receiving a report of an attempted child abduction.

Officials said that an 8-year-old girl had shared with school staff that an unknown man approached her from behind and attempted to abduct her while she was walking to school at around 8:45 a.m. in the area of Washington and Grove avenues in Berlin Township.

The girl was able to fight off the suspect before running to the school, according to officials.

"The victim believes she stabbed the suspect with a pencil she was carrying, so he may have a facial injury," officials shared.

Officials describe the suspect as a man with a dark beard. He was last seen wearing black clothes and a baseball cap with an unknown symbol on it.

Neighbors applauded the young girl for her quick thinking while parents who have students at the school are concerned for their safety.

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The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office asks the public to remain vigilant and to contact detectives about any suspicious individuals or activity they may have observed.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective William DeFoney of the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Special Victims Unit at 856-952-7460 and Detective Sergeant Colin Kelbaugh of the Berlin Township Police Department at 856-767-5878, ext. 668.