8-year-old girl fights off attempted kidnapper in her bedroom, police say

STERLING, Colo. (Gray News) – An 8-year-old Colorado girl fought off an attacker who tried to kidnap her in her bedroom earlier this month, police said.

The Sterling Police Department said that around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, officers responded to a home for a call about an attempted child abduction.

Police said a man entered the home and “attacked” an 8-year-old girl in her bedroom. The girl fought back and escaped the attacker, who fled the scene before the police arrived.

According to an arrest affidavit, the girl told investigators the man — who was wearing a clown mask — blindfolded her and tried to pull her off her bed.

She said she fought back and the suspect hit her in the head, knocking her unconscious. When she woke up, the man was gone. She told her mother what happened and her mother called 911.

The girl suffered some bruising but was not seriously injured in the attack, police said.

Police found the clown mask and gloves in the girl’s bedroom.

The girl’s cell phone was confiscated and later found abandoned near Interstate 76.

The Sterling Police Department said detectives and patrol officers were “working tirelessly around the clock” to identify and locate a suspect in the crime because of the “potential threat to the community.”

On Saturday, Thomas Gallegos, 56, was arrested on charges of first-degree burglary, second-degree assault, second-degree attempted kidnapping, third-degree assault and child abuse.

Police said “a significant amount of digital, forensic and physical evidence” helped identify Gallegos as the suspect.

Gallegos lived in the same neighborhood as the girl and helped install a washer and dryer in the home the week before the alleged attack.

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