Needham Police warn of suspicious man who approached teen girl

NEEDHAM, Mass. — Needham Police are warning residents of a suspicious man who reportedly approached a young girl on Saturday afternoon.

A 16-year-old girl told authorities a man in a white, newer model Land Rover Discovery SUV approached her around 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of Hunnewell Street and Hillside Avenue.

The girl told police the man drove by her three times, then stopped the vehicle and yelled at her multiple times to get in his car.

The suspect is described as being a white man in his 20s or 30s, muscular, with brown hair, blue eyes and was seen wearing a blue T-shirt. Police also said he has a distinct tattoo on one of his upper arms.

While police say this appears to be an isolated incident, they are actively looking for the vehicle and suspect.

Neighbors in the area were on edge after the incident, calling the incident "disturbing."

"Frankly, I was shocked," Needham resident Barry Singer said. "I haven't heard of anything like that in this neighborhood, they always say on TV it's a quiet neighborhood. Everyone knows Needham is a safe neighborhood."

Needham resident Richard McMahon said he was also "taken by surprise" by the reported event.

"I have properties on Honeywell and Hillside, and usually my wife would be sitting there," McMahon said. "Otherwise, we might have very well seen the vehicle or the situation might not have happened had they seen us sitting here."

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The incident is now forcing some residents to make changes to keep themselves safe.

"We moved to Needham because we always knew it was an upper-middle class, safe neighborhood, but times are changing and this area is very busy now," McMahon said. "We are going to install cameras now because of the busyness situation of the intersection."

If you happen to see a vehicle and driver matching these descriptions, please take note of the license plate and call Needham Police at 781-444-1212.

Cox Media Group