Surveillance video has been released in what was first reported as an attempted abduction in Pasco County.
- Pasco Sheriff: Teen boys claim attempted abduction was 'a joke'
- Surveillance video shows boys chase 9-year-old girl in between homes
- Girl was unharmed, made it home safely
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office said the two boys who chased a 9-year-old girl in New Port Richey Tuesday afternoon said it was all a joke.
The video is a chilling one for many parents to watch. It shows a 9-year-old girl walking home from school when all of a sudden you see two teenaged boys start to chase her.
“He filmed his friend running full speed at a little girl, having her petrified and scared to death,” said Sheriff Chris Nocco.
The boys, who are 16 and 18, said chasing her was all a big joke.
“It doesn’t matter what they say now, what matters is what happened at that time, and what happened at that time is they scared this little girl to death,” said Sheriff Nocco.
Parents in the neighborhood who saw the video agree.
“I think it is scary these kids think it’s funny. I think they should be punished for what they did,” said parent, Nikki Buese. “I don’t think we should take this lightly, this little girl is traumatized for the rest of her life now because of what they’ve done as a joke.”
We went to the 18-year-old’s home, but he wouldn’t speak with us. We aren’t showing his face because he hasn’t been officially charged.
“Deputies were rolling up on scene, they could have went up at that time and said ‘hey guys this was all a joke, we didn’t mean to do this, this is all a joke,’ they didn’t do that,” said Sheriff Nocco. “They waited until we got in front of the cameras, they waited until we got out there and knocked on the doors, and they waited until we found out where they were.”
Sheriff Chris Nocco said charges are pending. The sheriff’s office is working with the state attorney to charge the two boys with first degree misdemeanor assault.