Nashville Man Attempts to Abduct Three Teen Girls at School Bus Stop
A Nashville man has been accused of stalking teenage girls during the early hours as they made their way to their school bus stop, before attempting to entice them into the front seat of his car while one teen’s mother bravely confronted him, police have reported.
Three girls, ages 13 and 15, have informed authorities that they were followed by a 31-year-old man named Levi P. Combs as they walked to the bus stop shortly before 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 30. This information was disclosed in a news release issued on Dec. 4 by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
The incident began when Combs was noticed by a girl walking alone as she headed toward the school bus stop. When she realized she was being followed, the teen started to walk faster, and Combs matched her speed. Combs then proceeded to call out to the girl and insisted she stop, causing the teen to begin running.
After informing her mother that she was being trailed, a second teen joined the first, and Combs continued to follow them, even using a breezeway to obscure himself from the girls as he pursued. A third teenager encountered the group at the bus stop and found one girl crying as Combs menacingly gazed at them and walked closer. It was at this critical moment when the first teen’s mother approached Combs and promptly confronted him, telling him to “go away” and “leave them alone” as Combs continued to intimidate the girls. The mother then went on to confront Combs, asking what he wanted, which is when he shockingly expressed his desire to talk to them in his car, referring to his BMW sedan parked nearby. The mother courageously took photos of Combs which were passed on to Youth Services detectives for further investigation.
Following this, Combs was identified trying to break into a preschool building just hours later. Preferring to avoid scrutiny, Combs turned himself in to authorities after being contacted by detectives on Dec. 1.
Charged with three counts of attempted kidnapping and three counts of assault by intimidation, Combs, resides just one mile away from the school bus stop in the Hermitage neighborhood of Nashville, which lays on the city’s east side.
In light of this alarming incident, Metro Nashville Council Public Safety Committee Chair Erin Evans implied that the neighborhood is notoriously dark and not well lit and suggested that such incidents lend credence to Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s efforts to adjust school start times. With the girls having walked to their bus stop before sunrise, Evans expressed affirmation, raising the need to explore safety considerations in relation to school safety and start times.
The unsettling news comes amidst a climate of rising concern for public safety, and continued diligence in promoting the wellbeing of students and citizens within the Nashville community.
