School had ended three hours ago, and where was I? Still in class. As I slouched down in my seat in McAuliffe Middle School’s Room 28, I could not help but despise lockdown. What was going on anyways? What would be so important that students could not leave class without a parent coming to pick them up? I groaned and growled with my fellow classmates until Mr. Thomson gave me the infamous teacher stink-eye. Turns out though, that the issue was pretty serious. It explained the nervous tension in Vice-Principal Boeing’s voice that was heard over the loudspeaker, urging everyone to keep calm and stay in their classrooms until their parents came directly to pick them up one by one. There had been an unidentified man found lurking around trying to kidnap two students at Lee Elementary, another school in the Los Alamitos district, so all the schools in Los Al were put under lockdown and closely monitored by the police. Several students had come in contact with this man, but no one had gotten hurt or abducted. The suspect is reportedly still on the loose, so Los Alamitos families are still very concerned about their children’s safety at school. Everyone has been cautioned to walk in groups and reminded about the meaning behind the kindergarten phrase “stranger danger”.
Not only does this kidnap attempt affect the victims, but it also affects the rest of the community and its schools. Although the suspect did not come to McAuliffe, his actions greatly influenced the students and their everyday lives. My English teacher Mrs. Acuna spent a few minutes of class to stress the importance of being safe and aware in public. The school definitely experienced confusion and unease following up to the kidnap attempt at Lee Elementary.
Since no specific individual was continually targeted, the man did not seem to be trying to abduct a single student with whom he had relations or reason to kidnap. The suspect’s vehicle was described as a silver van with a broken rear window that already held a teenage, according to a victim, “Justin Bieber look-alike” in the passenger seat of the van. Offering students candy and even threatening that he would kidnap them, the suspect rode his car to the very outskirts of Lee Elementary, only to drive away after failing in his abduction attempt.
With their students’ safety at risk, what kind of parent or teacher would not be shaken at the idea of a local kidnapper haunting the schools?
As I was waiting for my mom to come and pick me up that day in Room 28, my friend asked Mr. Thomson if he would have to stay with us if our parents did not come until late at night. Mr. Thomson lifted his head up and joked, “Your safety and well-being are our top priority. Although, the hot dogs I stash in my cabinet, are for me only, so…” I laughed with my friend, but underneath the jokes, I knew that he was not kidding when he said that he would do anything to keep us safe.
In situations like this, everyone should keep in their minds the precautions and dangers to be aware of. Safety, especially those of our students, can be weakened in times like this, but working together and staying together can strengthen our school environments and our community.
Editor’s Note: The News Enterprise received parental permission to publish the author’s last name and photo, but due to the subject nature, both have been withheld.
