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NYPD Steps Up Patrols Looking For Man Suspected In Attempted Kidnapping

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Queens are continuing to look for a man who may have tried to kidnap a 7-year-old boy from outside a school.

Students left PS 92 in Queens Monday with a supplement to their homework -- a bulletin from the principal and the NYPD alerting them to Mark Synclair.

Synclair is suspected of trying to grab a child off the street in front of the school last week.

"I'm shocked. You know, I hope they catch him, and if we see him we'll call 911," one parent said.

"I'm scared, because I have a daughter right there. I'm really, really scared about this guy," another parent said.

Police said the attempted abduction happened May 29th when the young boy resisted and escaped when Synclair allegedly tried to grab him.

The boy was frightened, but waited a few days before reporting it. At the 115th Precinct, police showed the young boy a photo lineup and he picked out Synclair, who is a well-known local troublemaker in Queens, CBS 2's Aiello reported.

Police said Synclair waved a knife at two women near a corner in Jackson Heights last month. He has also faced charges for sodomy in 2010, public lewdness the year before and did time for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl a decade ago.

Parents at PS 92 are understandably worried. One man won't let his daughter walk to school alone from their home across the street.

The school said it is vital that parents talk with their children about personal safety.

Officers from the 115th Precinct are also actively patrolling, trying to find the suspect.

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