Charleston, SC - Tonight Mount Pleasant police are still searching for a suspect in a possible child abduction attempt.

It happened in the Seaside Farms area Monday afternoon when police say an 8 -year-old was approached by a man who asked for help to find a lost puppy.

Police say the man motioned for the child to get into the car. The suspect is described as a white man, about 50 years old, with medium length gray hair wearing a red shirt.
     
The car is a black midsized four door sedan. If you have any information, call the Mount Pleasant police.

Since the attempted abduction, parents are flooding a lowcountry self defense studio with phone calls and that’s why they offered a free class tonight. 

If a stranger attacks, 14-year-old Shawn Ayers knows exactly what to do.

“If someone came up to me, you have those verbal, stop, get away, to make sure you don’t have to use the Krav Maga unless it’s absolutely necessary,” explained Ayers.

If it does become necessary, Shawn is ready and learning wasn't as hard as he thought.

“It’s really easy to start off, you will never be lost the first time you're there,” said Ayers.

Shawn only began classes six months ago. He’s learning Krav Maga, an Israeli self defense technique.

“Basically it's eliminating the threat in the quickest amount of time possible using the easiest techniques and using natural body movements,” said Charleston Krav Maga owner and instructor, Matt Robinson.

That’s what makes Krav Maga easy for children to learn, but just getting kids inside the Krav Maga studio, not so easy.

“I have tried to get a couple of them in here but busy schedules with 14-year-olds,” said Ayers. 

The instructor says that parents need to do their part.

“We’ve kind of gone away from talking, there are so many other pressures that are happening to our children these days, that I tend to see less talking about stranger awareness,” said Robinson.

This week's attempted abduction is sparking a new interest in the Lowcountry. Parents are now hoping a few new moves could help save their children's lives.

There is a class on Saturday and it’s free, but instructors ask that you sign up first. You can do that by calling (843) 225-KICK or emailing Katie@CharlestonKravMaga.com. For more information on the course, visit their website.

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