Frightened pupils

Bad joke: Boy played child abductor

The attempted abduction with chocolate and a van turned out to be a bad joke by a teenager (symbolic image).(Bild: Monatsrevue Lenger, Markus Tschepp, Krone KREATIV,)

There was great excitement around an elementary school in Kasten near Böheimkirchen: Three men had lured children into a van with chocolate. The police have now been able to track down the "perpetrator": The lad, aged around 17, had merely allowed himself a prank ...

A white van stopped at the bus stop near the school in the district of St. Pölten on Tuesday afternoon. Two men were allegedly inside, one of whom approached the children. He is said to have tried to lure pupils into the van with chocolate and other sweets. He is also said to have touched some of the boys and girls, who were around eight years old. He also told them that the school bus was late and that he could take them home.

The frightened children reacted correctly and reported the incident. The alleged child abductor then ran away. The alerted police responded to the incident by stepping up patrols.

Children identified the "kidnapper"
After extensive investigations, the all-clear was given on Wednesday afternoon. Although the children were indeed approached and touched by a stranger, the "perpetrator" had only been playing a bad joke, as he later claimed. He got out of the van beforehand and ran into a house shortly after the alleged abduction attempts. Some children observed him doing so. They were later able to clearly identify the 17-year-old boy from photos.

Police heavily criticized
The police condemn the "prank" in the strongest possible terms: "Such actions stir up insecurity in the population and fear among our children. We have no sympathy for that." The boy was summoned to the police station on Wednesday and the facts of the case will be presented to the public prosecutor for criminal prosecution.