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PA Mall Kidnapper Arrested, 2nd Suspect Sought: Police

The man accused of grabbing a 14-year-old girl in an apparent abduction attempt at the Willow Grove Park Mall is in police custody, but the second suspect is still at large, according to authorities. 

Khalil Evans, believed by authorities to be the attempted Willow Grove Park Mall kidnapper, surrendered to police Thursday.

Khalil Evans, believed by authorities to be the attempted Willow Grove Park Mall kidnapper, surrendered to police Thursday.

Photo Credit: Abington Township Police Department
"Alex's" suspected accomplice in the Willow Grove Park Mall kidnapping attempt.

"Alex's" suspected accomplice in the Willow Grove Park Mall kidnapping attempt.

Photo Credit: Abington Township Police Department

Khalil Evans, 44, of Philadelphia, was arrested by city police and US Marshals on Thursday, July 13, Abington Township police said in a release. 

He is charged with false imprisonment of a minor, a second-degree felony, the department said. 

Investigators believe Evans and another unidentified man were working "in concert" to kidnap a teenager from the mall on Wednesday, July 12, Daily Voice reported

The victim was coming down the escalator when she was met by a man she did not know around 7 p.m., Abington Township police said. The man identified himself as "Alex" and asked her to walk with him, "extending his arm, as if to escort her," according to investigators.

The teen told him she is underage and tried to walk away, but "Alex" "grabbed her arm, placed it in his arm, and restrained her as he led her across the mall," police said. 

The young teen was eventually able to slip free and screamed as she ran away, authorities said. Bystanders who witnessed the escape "stepped in to prevent the male from approaching" her again, they added.

Investigators believe "Alex" was Evans, and that he was working with a second suspect whom he left the mall with immediately after the incident.

The second suspect is still sought by Abington police. Anyone with information is asked to call the department at 267-536-1100. 

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