Police have issued a public safety alert after children were approached by an unknown man in a Scarborough neighbourhood on three occasions over the last month.

The first incident happened near Burrows Hall Boulevard and Purvis Crescent at around 3 p.m. on Feb. 10. Police say that two 9-year-old boys were walking in the area when an unknown man in a vehicle pulled up alongside them and asked them to get in his car. The boys then ran away, at which point the vehicle drove off.

The second incident happened at around 8 a.m. on March 7, also in the Burrows Hall Boulevard and Purvis Crescent area. Police say that two 10-year-old boys and a five-year-old girl were walking in the area when an unknown man in a vehicle pulled up alongside them and offered them a ride. At that point, police say that the children declined the offer but the man persisted. The children then ran away, police say.

The third and most recent incident happened nearby in the Mammoth Hall Trail and Malvern Street area at around 3:25 p.m. on Friday. Police say that a 10-year-old girl was walking home from Malvern Junior Public School when a man wearing a ski mask exited a dark-grey or black sedan and started to run towards her. The girl then ran back to the school and reported the incident to staff, who contacted police.

“It appears that the man involved in these incidents could be the same man,” Const. David Hopkinson told CP24 on Saturday. “We investigate them separately but we are issuing this public safety alert because these are all happening within blocks of one another. They are very, very disturbing cases.”

Hopkinson told CP24 that the children who have been approached have “acted appropriately” by refusing to get into the car and then reporting the incident to their parents or school officials.

He said that parents and children in the area should be exercising added caution going forward.

“That’s what we want to get to the kids to remember. Be very wary of strangers. You should not get into a car with a strange person and if you are approached you should be contacting a parent or maybe school staff or another guardian, somebody that you know and trust,” he said.

The suspect in the first two incidents is described as brown and 35 to 45 years old with reading glasses. Police say he may have been wearing a Blue Jays shirt and hat during one of the incidents.

Meanwhile, the suspect in the third incident is described as five-foot-eight to six-foot-one with a medium build. He was last seen wearing black clothing with a ski mask and sunglasses.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at (416) 808-4200 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (416) 222-TIPS (8477).