Men follow kids and threaten them with kidnapping for TikTok prank, Texas cops say

Two men were arrested after Texas police said they approached children after school and asked them “if they wanted to be kidnapped.”

Authorities said a 7-year-old and 9-year-old student were followed by two men while walking home from Negley Elementary School on Jan. 29, according to a news release from the Kyle Police Department.

The children told their parents the men approached them and asked if they wanted to be kidnapped, authorities said.

Police arrested an 18-year-old and 19-year-old, who said they were “repeating a TikTok prank,” the department said.

The two were arrested on charges of terroristic threats, police said.

Negley Elementary School is part of the Hays Consolidated Independent School District, which police said was notified of the incident.

Kyle is about a 25-mile drive southwest from Austin.

This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Men follow kids and threaten them with kidnapping for TikTok prank, Texas cops say."

Lauren Liebhaber

mcclatchy-newsroom

Lauren Liebhaber covers international science news with a focus on taxonomy and archaeology at McClatchy. She holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Lawrence University and a master’s degree from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Previously, she worked as a data journalist at Stacker.