HOUSTON -- Some southeast Houston parents kept a watchful eye on their children as they walked to school after they learned a sexual predator is on the loose, KPRC Local 2 reported Tuesday.

Houston police said a man kidnapped a 14-year-old girl as she walked along to Albert Thomas Junior High School at about 9 a.m. on April 2.

The girl told investigators that the man asked her for directions and later grabbed her, pointed a gun at her and told her to keep walking.

The man took the girl to an abandoned shed where she was sexually assaulted, police said.

Some parents said they were changing their children's normal routines.

"I would normally let them walk in a group, but now I'm so scared to where I want to walk them myself," mother Jacquelyn Thompson said.

Extra security was present at the school and more officers patrolled the streets, but some parents want to be sure their children are always cautious.

"I tell them every day and every night, 'Don't talk to strangers,'" mother Cassandra Riggins said. "After a certain time, they can't go outside. I don't let them open the door for anyone and stuff like that."

Police said the attack was random and they believe the man lives in the neighborhood.

The girl told investigators that the man was black, 40 to 45 years old, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall with a muscular build. The man has a dark complexion, is bald and has a crooked right front tooth, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Houston Police Department Juvenile Division at 713-731-5353 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.