Man accused of trying to abduct 6 women

BELLAIRE, Texas (KHOU) - A man accused of nearly abducting six women in the Houston area has been arrested.

Bellaire police said 29-year-old Amar Barkouda has spent the last three days terrorizing a Bellaire neighborhood, nearly abducting six different young women.

”He would follow them, stop the car, get out and approach and try to engage them just in conversation, and in a couple of cases, the women were able to get away from him. In one case, he got very close to one of the victims,” said Bellaire Police Chief Onesimo Lopez.

They said Barkouda hit four different spots between Tuesday and Thursday. The last attacks came Thursday morning.

Neighborhood surveillance video led to a description of Barkouda, and the beige Toyota Camry victims say he was driving ultimately lead police to a traffic stop at a construction site at the intersection of Chimney Rock and Evergreen.

“We dispatched officers into the area and were able to locate the suspect not too far away from where we received the calls,” Lopez said. “The construction likely slowed him down, which is why, one of the reasons we were able to catch him.”

It’s not Barkouda’s first run-in with police.

As this week’s attacks unfolded, court records reveal he was already out on bond, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly holding two people hostage with a screwdriver at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center last summer in southwest Houston.

Neighbors said enough is enough.

“It’s a revolving door here in Houston, and this is something that needs to be addressed seriously,” Theresa Bosley said.

“We know this individual is dangerous and really needs to be off the streets,” Lopez said.