Baltimore police are investigating a video they describe as “suspicious” that shows a white man speeding off in his Prius with a Black child.
A man who confronted the driver posted the video to Instagram on November 9 under the account “bgempire1500.”
“I had a weird-a– encounter today. While sitting in the car, I saw THIS man and this little boy walking down the street. The little boy was looking back, eyes WIDE & blinking repeatedly like it was a sign for HELP,” wrote bgempire1500.
He noted it was cold out and the child didn’t have a coat. The man added, “We kept asking if he was good and if he knew the man. He didn’t respond and kept looking back.”
Baltimore Police Department Director of Media Relations J. Donny Moses confirmed to Atlanta Black Star that they did not have a report on the incident.
However, officials said they forwarded the video to the department’s intelligence section and are “deeply concerned with its depiction.” Moses also said the incident took place within Baltimore City limits.
In the video, “bgempire1500” questioned the man sitting behind the wheel of his grey Toyota Prius C, with the child in the backseat.
The man stopped the driver just as the car was pulling out of a parking spot on what police believe is Charles Street, asking the boy, “You good? You know him?”
He explained that the child and his son were “best friends,” but that his son was at home.
When “bgempire1500” and another man spoke directly to the boy, the boy mumbled that they were going to the Baltimore Museum and told them to “leave me alone.”
The driver then suddenly rolled up the rear window and sped off as the boy tried to open the door.
Bgempire1500 said, “We tried to follow him, but he sped so fast we lost him at the light.”
Atlanta Black Star has also reached out to “bgempire1500” for comment. He says he reported the incident but has yet to receive any updates about the child.
