LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Louisville man was arrested Thursday afternoon after he allegedly tried to lure children from an Okolona school playground.
Louisville Metro Police said officers were notified by Okolona Elementary School staff regarding a man, identified as 74-year-old Evaristo Norberto Perez-Ramirez, who was on school property trying to interact with children.
Two female students told officers Perez-Ramirez had approached them on the school's playground and started talking with them.
According to an arrest citation, at one point, he grabbed one of the young girls by the wrist and tried to get her to come with him by saying: "Come with me, there are kids over that want to play with you."
The child told him to stop and was able to break free and run away from the man.
Principal April Hetzel said teachers were watching Perez-Ramirez the entire time and had called administrators as soon as they spotted him near the playground.
"This was the second time in two days that [he] had cut through school property," Hetzel said in a letter to parents.
When staff told Perez-Ramirez to leave, he didn't immediately leave.
Instead, he reportedly stood by a fence that separates the Markwell apartment complex from the school grounds.
Hetzel said she came outside and instructed students to head back into the building, at which point, police said the man slipped between a gap in the fence and left school property.
After being read his Miranda Rights and an interview with a police translator, LMPD says Perez-Ramirez told detectives he briefly spoke to male children on the school playground and never spoke to any female students.
He also told police he never touched any of the students.
Perez-Ramirez has been charged with attempted kidnapping of a minor.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
