Female Pedestrians In Montclair Report 2 Suspicious Incidents: PD

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair police are investigating a pair of suspicious incidents that took place in the township on Thursday, authorities said.

In both incidents, female pedestrians said they encountered unwanted attention from adult men. A Montclair police spokesperson declined to comment on whether the cases are related, citing an ongoing investigation.

INWOOD AVENUE

According to the Montclair Police Department, a 19-year-old Glen Ridge resident told officers she was walking on Inwood Avenue around 3:50 p.m. when a minivan stopped alongside her.

The driver – a heavyset man in his late 30s – asked the teen for directions, but she told officers she couldn’t understand him due to his thick accent.

The man then asked the pedestrian if she needed a ride. When she declined, he “shook her hand firmly and caressed the back of her hand with his thumb,” police stated.

The teen pulled her hand away and walked away as the man continued to ask if she needed a ride, police said.

Authorities said the driver never left his vehicle, a dark-blue or black-colored minivan last seen traveling west on Inwood Avenue.

COOPER AVENUE/PARK STREET

Another incident took place around 3:15 p.m. near Cooper Avenue and Park Street, police said.

A 13-year-old female and her friend, another juvenile, said they were walking in the area when a man in a dark-brown or dark-gray minivan – possibly a Toyota or Honda – stopped alongside them.

The driver – who spoke English without an accent, as opposed to the Inwood Avenue incident – asked them if they needed a ride. The teens declined the ride and ran to one of their homes, police stated.

The minivan was last seen traveling north on Park Street, authorities said.

Thursday’s incidents took place a week after a man allegedly followed a pair of juveniles, filming them without their permission at spots including the Montclair Public Library's Bellevue Branch, the CVS pharmacy on Valley Road and the nearby Starbucks.

• See related article: Man Filmed Teens In Montclair, Followed Them

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