Man tries to lure boy, 10, into van in Portage Park

A man attempted to lure a child into a van Wednesday afternoon in the Portage Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side.

About 3:30 p.m., the 10-year-old boy was walking home from school with two classmates in the 3600 block of North Laramie when his friends went into a gas station to make a purchase while he waited outside, Chicago Police said in a community alert.

A man described as about 30 years old, white Hispanic, with short black hair and a mustache pulled up to the curb in a purple van with a ram symbol on it, police said. He repeatedly told the boy to come over while pointing inside the vehicle. The boy ran into the gas station and the man drove away.

Anyone with information is asked to call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8200.