An armed robbery took place in the school parking lot after school on April 24, the day of parent teacher conference night. Immediately after the robbery took place, the school went on lockdown. Nobody is sure who the robbers were or why they were at our school, but what is known for sure is that the victims that are most targeted are students with new electronic devices. Due to many robberies and people getting hurt, for safety reasons, the school has postponed the “Glow in the Dark Dance” to May 30.

According to Assistant Principal Patricia Heideman, four students were approached by the armed robbers and ordered them to surrender their sidekicks. By the time she had gotten to the scene at school, the police had their guns drawn. Ms. Heideman does not know if the robbers had fled before the police arrived or were arrested.

According to Assistant Principal David Taylor, that evening two students were robbed of their iPods and one other student of her phone at about 4:30 p.m. The suspect showed them the gun and ran off in the direction opposite of Melrose. After the incident had occurred, the school went on lockdown and a recorded message went out to all the student’s homes notifying them of the incident.

LASPD and LAPD covered the area, but they could not locate the suspect. They do, however, have a description of what they may look like. As for now, the school has provided more security by the bus stops and more police patrol after school.

“This experience left me shaky and aware of the people all around me,” says a male student who wishes to remain anonymous. While he was waiting for a bus on the way to school on March 6, he decided to take a new route because it supposedly less dangerous. A man who he did not know started blocking the student’s way under the freeway. At the time, the student was just listening to his iPod under his sweater while trying to keep it out of view at the same time. The man saw the iPod and had ordered the student to surrender it to him, the student had no choice but to do so and the suspect grabbed it and ran off. The suspect at the time was high on drugs and was armed. After the robbery happened, a nearby bystander saw what had just happened and took the student to her work so he could use the phone to call the police.

To prevent a robbery like this from happening, take precautions and always look around yourself, especially when you are alone. Students should not be alone, especially in isolated areas and should be with a friend at all times. If you are being robbed, especially by somebody who is armed, it is better to simply give up your possessions, however valuable. Be sure to repot any crime immediately. An iPod is not losing your life over