San Diego

11-Year-Old Fights Off Transient Who Grabbed Her Feet Away From Her Front Door

The girl was grabbed Saturday while she went to check the mail, her dad said.

A San Diego man said his daughter was grabbed as she went to check the mail Saturday outside her Grantville home.

โ€œHe grabbed her from behind and she was able to get out of his grasp,โ€ Chris Gilbert told NBC 7. โ€œShe kicked him and for some reason the guy let her go. And thank God he let her go."

Once she escaped, she raced home to get him to help fight off the suspect.

โ€œI had to go encounter with the gentleman,โ€ Gilbert said. โ€œHe was still here. I hit him and he hit me because I said, โ€˜Donโ€™t you ever come here again.โ€™โ€

The incident happened in the Mission Playmor condos on Camanito Deporte.

Residents say they aren't strangers to homeless people wandering through because thereโ€™s easy access from the nearby riverbed.

But after the Saturday scare, Gilbert said enough is enough.

โ€œThis is a big issue. This is something we have to address and make it safer for our children, especially 50 feet out our front door. We canโ€™t have this happen," he said.

Though traumatized by what happened, Gilbert said his daughter is OK.

The suspect is believed to be about 40 years old with an athletic build, glasses and short hair. He was last seen wearing all blue.

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