Neighboring Palo Alto Police Seeking Man Who Harassed 11-Year-Old Boy

PALO ALTO, CA – Police are searching for a man who harassed an 11-year-old boy in Palo Alto on Monday afternoon.

The boy had been walking east in the 700 block of Colorado Avenue when he noticed a man standing in front of a 7-Eleven store across the street, police said.

The man crossed the street, stopped on the sidewalk in front of the boy and greeted him.

The boy ignored him and walked past, but the man put his hand on the boy's shoulder from behind and asked his name, police said.

The boy shrugged the man's hand off, ran home and told a parent, who called the police shortly before 3:30 p.m.

The man was described as a Hispanic man with facial hair and a Spanish accent. He was reportedly wearing a blue shirt.

A similar incident was reported in Palo Alto on Oct. 17, but police do not believe it was the same suspect. (Story here: Boy, 10, Reports Unnerving Encounter With Man On Palo Alto Sidewalk.)

"Detectives are actively investigating both cases, however," the department said. "Police ask for your help with reporting suspicious activity immediately, as the parent did in this case. We also advise parents to remind children to remain alert no matter where they are, and to tell a trusted adult immediately about anything they see that does not seem quite right."

Anyone with information about this incident has been asked to call police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail at (650) 383-8984.

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--Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via PAPD