Whether an early April Fool's hoax or a poorly planned lie, an Atlanta 9-year-old who invented his own kidnapping Wednesday didn’t figure on what kind trouble his deception could lead to.
The little boy had been suspended from Margaret Fain Elementary School in southwest Atlanta, and was trying to avoid paying the piper.
So he called his parents and told them he was kidnapped, Atlanta police spokesman Sgt. Curtis Davenport said.
“He said he was picked up at the corner of Delmar Lane and Hemphill School Road,” Davenport said. “He said the alleged kidnapper drove him to Allen Temple Apartments on ML King Drive and put him out.”
The kid gave police a general description of his so-called kidnapper, noting that the man was wearing a ski mask and Nike Air Force One sneakers, police said.
After two hours of searching, investigators discovered the boy near the apartment complex and questioned him – with his mother present, or course – until police said they noticed holes in his story.
Realizing what was going on, Mom was not amused, Davenport said.
University of Alaska at Anchorage psychology professor John Petraitis offered a quick clinical opinion on the incident.
“I guess he didn’t think that one through, did he?” Petraitis said.
Petraitis, who specializes in evaluating risk-taking behaviors of youth, said kids that age aren’t that good at envisioning consequences.
“This kid probably thought, ‘OK I need to save my bacon,’ not thinking, Mom and Dad are going to call the police, who would then send out a search team,” Petraitis said. “He just opened up a can of worms and he didn’t know what was in there.”
Should the justly ticked-off parental units be concerned such behavior might lead to criminal deviance in the future?
No, Petraitis said.
“This is typical for 9-year-olds,” he said. “That kid’s not good at taking someone else’s perspective. He wouldn’t understand that mom and dad would freak out.”
Davenport urges people of all ages not to try such a stunt, at home anywhere else, because it wastes police resources that could be used stopping real crime.
“I wouldn’t recommend anyone play with the 911 system,” he said.
So what happens to our young falsifier, now?
“He’s just 9,” Davenport said. He won't be charged by police.
Mom and Dad might not let him off so easily.
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