A 17-year-old girl told police a man attempted to abduct her as she walked to school Monday morning, Atlanta police said.

The teen was walking to Booker T. Washington High School in southwest Atlanta when a gray minivan pulled up beside her, according to Officer Kim Jones. A man inside the van asked the girl where she was going, but the girl continued walking and did not answer him, she told police.

"The male in the minivan then told her that her parents told him to pick her up and take her to school," Jones said in an emailed statement. "At this time, the student ran home."

The girl was unable to get a tag number on the van, but described the suspect as being a black man in his 50s or 60s, with a medium build, a mustache and a brown hat, police said. The van possibly had an electric sliding door on the passenger side, though the man did not exit the van, according to police.

A city-wide alert was issued for a van matching the description, and school resource officers were also informed of the incident, Jones said.

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