Four girls leaving a gas station convenience store fended off a man who tried to kidnap one of them Friday by throwing hot coffee on him, police said.
The girls, aged 11 to 14, were confronted by Bruce Hopkins, 22, when he grabbed Allison Eickhoff by the head and tried to take her, WJRT reported.
"He said, 'You're coming with me.' And like, he grabbed my face," Allison told WJRT. "This cannot be happening; I thought it was a test at first, but then I'm like, 'This is real.'"
The other girls kicked, hit and threw their hot coffee at Hopkins until he released Allison, police said. Hopkins then tried to grab another girl and was hit and kicked until he let go, police said.
"I grabbed my drink and chucked it at his head. I tried, I punched him in the head," Allison's sister, Lauren Eickhoff, told WJRT. "Seeing that your little sister was going to get taken is very scary."
The girls ran to a nearby hotel and called police. None of them were injured.
Hopkins was arrested and charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault and battery and criminal sexual conduct, WJRT reported.
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