Police detain suspect in possible kidnapping attempt

OAKLAND, Calif. - Police are investigating a report of a kidnapping in North Oakland this morning as possibly connected to human trafficking and forced prostitution, a police spokeswoman said.

Officers swarmed the area of 65th Street and Alcatraz Avenue after they received a witness report of a male taking a female hostage there at about 9:15 a.m., Officer Johnna Watson said.

Police shut down streets in the area with the help of Berkeley police and focused on a house near the corner of 65th and Herzog streets.

They found a kidnapping victim, a teen girl, and just before noon arrested a suspect, a man.

Several other male and females in the house were detained, Watson said. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the kidnapping is connected to forced prostitution.

The home is near the Yu Ming Charter School at 1086 Alcatraz Ave., a K-8 school for Mandarin immersion education.