Three men in Washington, DC, allegedly stole the shoes off three middle schoolers on Friday.
The suspects allegedly walked onto Eliot-Hines Middle School property and demanded the shoes from the students, according to Fox 5. Principal Marlene Magrino said the suspects allegedly stole the shoes at gunpoint, but police are not sure whether the suspects had weapons.
“School should be a place of fun, a place to interact, network, to build lifelong bonds, not a place where you have to watch over your shoulders,” Ward 7 ANC Commissioner Kelvin Brown said, according to DC News Now.
The other students outside at the time of the incident were taken back inside the building, Fox 5 reported. The students were then sent home.
Authorities say three D.C. middle school students had their sneakers stolen on campus by a group of thieves in an SUV. https://t.co/7NUsf1aH8U
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) February 20, 2023
“People across not only Ward 7, but I think any household that has school-age children that attend schools within the District of Columbia, are talking about this very frequently, about the overall safety; when they are sending their kids off to school each morning,” Brown said, DC News Now reported. “It’s not isolated to one single incident.”
Magrino sent a letter to the school community after the incident, Fox 5 DC reported. (RELATED: Thieves Bikejack High School Team At Gun Point In Berkeley)
“I recognize this is a distressing and frightening event. Coping with the effects of neighborhood violence and conflict is a challenging experience for students, and we want to support our community when such events occur,” Magrino’s letter said.
“We will support the students who experienced this alarming incident, and ongoing support will be available to any student needing time or space to process recent incidents in our community,” Magrino added.