Suffolk County Police arrested a homeless man for attempting to kidnap a child at a Bay Shore mosque.
During a prayer service at Masjid Darul Quran, located at 1514 East 3rd Ave., Nelson Priester allegedly led a four-year-old boy away from the prayer hall into a basement kitchen and barricaded the door at approximately 5:45 p.m. on August 20. A worshiper saw Priester allegedly take the boy and notified the child’s grandfather. Multiple people then attempted to gain entry to the kitchen through the door but were unable. One person then climbed through a service window into the kitchen to reach the child, who was not injured.
Priester, 39, was charged with Attempted Kidnapping in the Second Degree and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. He is scheduled to be arraigned on August 20 at First District Court in Central Islip.