Passerby saves 9-year-old SF girl from kidnap attempt

San Francisco police are investigating separate stabbings over the weekend in the Mission District and Chinatown that left two men wounded, including one with life-threatening injuries. San Francisco police are investigating separate stabbings over the weekend in the Mission District and Chinatown that left two men wounded, including one with life-threatening injuries. Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Image, Getty Image Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Image, Getty Image Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Passerby saves 9-year-old SF girl from kidnap attempt 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A passerby sprang into action to save a 9-year-old girl from a would-be kidnapper who was dragging her by the collar to a van in San Francisco’s Bayview district, police said Tuesday.

The incident unfolded Friday around 8:30 a.m. as the young victim was walking to school and encountered the suspected kidnapper on Osceola Lane and La Salle Avenue, police said.

The suspect, described as about 20 years old, grabbed the girl by the collar and began leading her toward a brown van, police said. That’s when the passerby intervened to foil the abduction, police said.

The girl suffered pain to her back and neck and was treated on the scene.

Police were still searching for the suspect Tuesday.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz