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"You're lucky you got her... or else I would have," South Phoenix family warns of stranger danger

Posted at 9:40 PM, Dec 06, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-07 00:25:55-05

A 17-year-old girl says she's too scared to walk home alone now after being followed right to her doorstep Tuesday night.

Elvia told ABC15 she was walking home from a friends house near Central and Southern avenues around 9:00 p.m. when a man on a bicycle started following close behind. He made several flirtatious comments, according to the teen. 

"He’s over here saying you’re too pretty and too young to be walking by yourself," said Elvia. "He added, 'Don’t be afraid to show some skin, ma.'"

When she tried to lose him, she found the stranger following her into her apartment complex. 

That's when Elvia says she decided to go to a neighbor's apartment for help. She knocked on Tina Gonzales' door, who questioned the man, and even took photos as she called the police. 

Before he left, the man told Elvia and her neighbors, "You're lucky you guys got her, or else I would have got her..." 

“People like that need to be off the streets," said Gonzales. "I'm a mom, I’m a grandma, and at that time it’s just a mother’s reaction.”

Phoenix police said they'd taken a report on the suspicious incident and added the teen made the right call in seeking help. Police though haven't officially labeled the man in the photo as a wanted suspect.

“She’s very brave, she is very brave because he got upset because she ran up to my door faster than what he could catch her," said Gonzales.