Deer Park On Alert After Reports Of Cars Following Students
DEER PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Parents and students are on alert after reports that two girls were followed by strangers in cars in Deer Park.
Around 9 a.m. Thursday, police said a female student from Robert Frost Middle School was walking on Washington Avenue and Hickory Street when a small car that was either red or maroon started driving slowly, possibly following her, CBS 2's Weijia Jiang reported.
The next afternoon, another student from the same school said two men in a black four-door sedan followed her at Headline Road and Sunburst Drive and then sped off when she noticed, Jiang reported.
Deer Park On Alert After Reports Of Cars Following Students
The drivers in both incidents blew through stop signs to get away, Jiang reported.
Police said the drivers did not speak to the girls in either incident. Neither student was injured.
"Whatever their intentions may have been, it's really very heart wrenching to think of the worst. It could be kidnapping," parent Toyin Ogunsenwo told Jiang.
Parents are being advised to remind children about the dangers of speaking to strangers in cars.
"I think that is really, really bad. It's really, really dangerous for the children," parent Raymond Jeune said.
A spokesperson for the school district said security guards are patrolling schools and Suffolk County police have added extra patrols as a precaution.
Some parents would like to see even more safety measures.
"I would have expected to see more policemen patrolling," Ogunsenwo told Jiang.
"Especially right before school, right after school where there are a lot of children," said parent Dawn Pagan.
In both cases, the girls ran away from the lurking vehicles, exactly what many parents are telling their children to do if it happens to them.
