Fort Worth

Family Speaks Out After Girl, 13, is Attacked Near School Bus Stop

Fort Worth police are still searching for the man who attacked a 13-year-old girl while she was walking to the school bus stop Thursday morning.

The family said she was doing better Friday and was able to answer some questions, but her injuries are serious. They say she was choked and had to have surgery to remove blood from her lungs.

Fort Worth police detectives are working this case hard, and the family is hoping for a break soon to get a dangerous man off the streets.

Emmanuel Uwiduhaye and his family moved to America for a better life. They're refugees escaping civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"We expected to be safe but still the same things are going on," Uwiduhaye said.

That sense of safety was shattered when Uwiduhaye’s niece, Dorika Wimana, was attacked Thursday morning right by her school bus stop at Calmont and Laredo.

"I don't know how someone can come and attack you for no reason," said Uwiduhaye.

The family said Dorika told them a strange man first tried to grab her backpack then tried dragging her toward a car and when she fought back, they say he started choking her, until the school bus pulled up and scared him off.

Dorika made it onto the bus and was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.

"We are still scared,” Uwiduhaye said. “Maybe the person will come again and do the same thing, even if not us but other people."

Investigators are actively canvassing the neighborhood and tracking down leads to find the man, and the family is asking anyone with information, no matter how small, to come forward.

"You never know, maybe it may happen to you," said Uwiduhaye.

Uwiduhaye calls his niece a funny, good and humble girl and says his family is relying on faith to stay strong.

"Through our prayers, we're praying she's going to be OK," Uwiduhaye said.

The family is also urging others not to let their children walk alone. As NBC 5 first reported Thursday night, a group of volunteers is planning to start patrolling the area in the mornings to watch out for kids as they head to school.

The patrol group is asking for volunteers to join them. Anyone who wants to help should meet Monday at 6 p.m. at the Restoration Center at 3452 Williams Road ,near Camp Bowie, in West Fort Worth for a planning meeting. They expect to start patrolling Tuesday morning.

Fort Worth police haven't been able to get much of a suspect description yet from the victim. They are asking anyone who saw anything suspicious near Calmont and Laredo between 6:30 and 7 Thursday morning to call police at 817-392-4430 or CrimeStoppers at 817-469-8477.

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