Dallas mother of attempted kidnapping suspect defends her – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

There's a new version of events surrounding this week's viral video of an attempted kidnapping investigation in far North Dallas.

The “suspect's” mother is coming forward, stressing that the encounter “isn't what you think it is.”

“I'm the mother of the individual who jumped out of the car,” said the woman, who asked not to be identified out of fear for her and her son's safety. “I would like our side of the story to be told.”

She didn't know what happened Monday afternoon until her son got a screenshot of a neighborhood text describing a reported attempted abduction.

Police responded to Far North Dallas after a group of friends, ages 9 and 10, ran home and reported a suspicious encounter with strangers in a white SUV.

The incident then turned into what they perceived to be an attempted kidnapping when a passenger in the car got out and started chasing one of the younger boys.

NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 spoke with the boy's mother, Genna Skolnik, on Tuesday.

Doorbell video provided by Skolnik captured part of the incident and quickly went viral.

Skolnik said the boys told her, “(The strangers) were calling my son, saying, 'Hey, we've got a football player in the car. You should come and talk to him.' My son said I don't talk to strangers! And gone.”

As Skolnik ran outside, she saw a man following before turning around and getting into the white car.

It gave her time to snap a picture of the license plate.

Dallas police responded and have been investigating a 'reported attempted kidnapping' since Monday.

Word quickly spread through the neighborhood allowing NBC 5 to track down the suspect's mother, who had her own story to tell.

Not only contradicting the interaction, but explaining that the man the audience was stunned to see running after a child was actually a 16-year-old with high-functioning Autism.

“I just want people to listen to my heart and understand that I'm being authentic here and that my son had no ill will. He has a really good heart. He is a very kind young man and wished not to

malice towards those boys,” she said.

She says her son and a friend who were driving the white vehicle were meeting another friend who lived in the neighborhood that day.

She, her son and his friend were in the white SUV and their other friend was in a black pickup truck, which DPD also tracked down.

The two vehicles, she says, parked next to each other so the teenagers would know where they were going.

“Those guys walked by and when they passed my son they said, 'You guys look like you'd be great at playing football.' And one of the boys told him to leave (expletive), and so, (my son) made up his mind that it would be a good idea to get out of the car to tell the kid that you shouldn't talk to people like that,” she said. “My son is autistic and doesn't always understand social boundaries. So at that point when that guy said that someone who's autistic might not jump out of a car because they'd think, wow, that might have consequences. Well, that never occurred to my son because he had no malicious intent.”

She further explains that her son sometimes struggles with social boundaries and can be impulsive.

“I told him what he should have done as he already got out of the car when he saw the mum recording which startled him and made him go back in the car, that he should have gone ahead and spoken to mum. and told him why he got out of the car,” she said. “I've also told her that if she was in her situation, I would have had the same reaction because all she had was a little bit of information and she had to fill in the blanks.”

The teenager's mother says they immediately called the police on Tuesday in the hope of clearing up the 'misunderstanding' and putting everyone's mind at ease.

DPD on Friday said the case is still under investigation. Detectives have spoken with all the teenagers involved and say they have cooperated with the investigation and that police do not believe there is a threat to the public. Charges are still possible.

While she is horrified by the comments some people have made, including saying they would have shot the alleged child predator, the teenager's mother says the “blessing” that came from the incident is an outpouring of support from those who know her. and they love her son.

“His principal vouched for him to the police and said, we know you, we know you're a good kid,” she said.

She is grateful for his friends, especially because there was a time when he had none.

She hopes to have a conversation with Skolnik to clear the air.

“Just, you know, move forward and hopefully they can feel better and safer in their neighborhood,” she said.