Thieves stole sneakers from a group of D.C. middle school students at gunpoint while they were on school property Friday, police say.
Four men in a red Kia approached the students after dismissal at Eliot-Hine Middle School in Northeast, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Three of the men went up to the students with a gun and stole the shoes off the student’s feet, according to the school’s principal. While the driver of the car remained behind the wheel.
The thieves stole a pair of Air Jordan 4’s, Alexander McQueen's and black Nike boots from the students.
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None of the students were injured.
In a letter obtained by News4 the school's principal wrote: “I recognize this is a distressing and frightening event. 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 the recent incidents in our community.”
D.C. Public Schools released the following statement: “Student's safety is a top priority. The district is working with police and community partners to assess additional security measures and ensure our students’ safety on school property and during their commutes.”
Damill Bostic, whose kickball team practices at the school, said he heard about the robbery the same day but did not know students had been targeted.
“It’s just extremely sad, to where we are right now as a society, just to constantly go through the things that we're going through,” Bostic said. “It’s even sadder when it’s kids involved.”
D.C. resident Grandon Purnell said the incident was “such a shame” and that it does not seem like something that would happen in the area.
“This can’t become the norm,” Purnell said. “We’ve got to find other ways to I guess, engage folks so that they won’t participate in this kind of stuff.”
Police continue to search for the suspects in the robbery. Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 202-717-9099.
