A Shooting Near an Elementary School Leaves One Man Critically Hurt, Raising Fears About Safety in the Community.
Gigi Tolentino, a concerned mother whose 4-year-old daughter attends Head Start at Little Village Academy Elementary School, was visibly worried outside the school after a shooting that left one man critically hurt. The attack occurred about an hour before the school day began, and police say it is unrelated to the school, but its proximity still sent shockwaves through the community.
According to Tolentino, she was concerned about what her children would be exposed to when they walked into the school. "As a parent, I am very worried," she said. "You're bringing your kids to school and then you're dropping off not knowing what's going on." She believes that school staff could have done more to inform parents of the situation.
The principal of Little Village Elementary, Lillian Lazu, addressed the community, stating that the attack had no connection to the school and that a lockdown was put in place out of caution. However, she acknowledged that the timing of the incident raises concerns about safety. "Safety continues to be my top priority," she said.
The victim, a 31-year-old man, lost control of his vehicle after being shot and crashed into a parked car before fleeing the scene. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
Teachers at the school reported that students were unaware of what had happened during the lockdown. "We kind of went into a cute little 'Let's play some music to kind of block everything out'," said Maria Alarcon, a third-grade teacher. She praised the school and principal for their swift action in communicating with parents and staff.
However, Alarcon also expressed concern about what could have happened if the shooting had occurred earlier or at a time when more students would have been in the main building. "The timing is really scary," she said.
Area detectives are investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made yet. The community remains on edge as it grapples with the aftermath of this senseless act of violence.
Gigi Tolentino, a concerned mother whose 4-year-old daughter attends Head Start at Little Village Academy Elementary School, was visibly worried outside the school after a shooting that left one man critically hurt. The attack occurred about an hour before the school day began, and police say it is unrelated to the school, but its proximity still sent shockwaves through the community.
According to Tolentino, she was concerned about what her children would be exposed to when they walked into the school. "As a parent, I am very worried," she said. "You're bringing your kids to school and then you're dropping off not knowing what's going on." She believes that school staff could have done more to inform parents of the situation.
The principal of Little Village Elementary, Lillian Lazu, addressed the community, stating that the attack had no connection to the school and that a lockdown was put in place out of caution. However, she acknowledged that the timing of the incident raises concerns about safety. "Safety continues to be my top priority," she said.
The victim, a 31-year-old man, lost control of his vehicle after being shot and crashed into a parked car before fleeing the scene. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.
Teachers at the school reported that students were unaware of what had happened during the lockdown. "We kind of went into a cute little 'Let's play some music to kind of block everything out'," said Maria Alarcon, a third-grade teacher. She praised the school and principal for their swift action in communicating with parents and staff.
However, Alarcon also expressed concern about what could have happened if the shooting had occurred earlier or at a time when more students would have been in the main building. "The timing is really scary," she said.
Area detectives are investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made yet. The community remains on edge as it grapples with the aftermath of this senseless act of violence.
. It's like they were totally cut off from communication during that hour 
. And now there are kids out there who might be traumatized because of it 
. But at least teachers said they did their best to keep everything calm with some cute music 
.
One thing that really got me was when Maria Alarcon said that they went into lockdown and then started playing music to "block everything out" afterwards. Like, isn't the point of a lockdown to be serious about safety, not just pretend like everything is fine? 
The fact that teachers felt comfortable enough with what happened to go back to normal activities after such a traumatic event is really concerning... we need to prioritize our kids' well-being here. 
. And yeah, the timing is super sketchy - I'm glad no one was hurt (but seriously, 31?!), but now my mind is racing about all the what-ifs 
. Should've been some kind of lockdown drill or emergency alert system in place... just saying 
I mean, what a surprise right? Another shooting and everyone's worried about the kids... like they haven't seen any vids of shootings online before 
. Can't blame the parents for being concerned, but come on, it's just one hour before school starts? You'd think someone would have done something to warn them or something 
. And what's with the principal not telling parents about the lockdown in time? Just great, now they're all freaking out because they didn't get any info 
. The timing of this incident is straight up terrifying... can't say I trust these cops to figure it out anytime soon 
. Guess we'll just have to wait and see if anyone gets arrested or what 
like I get where parents are comin from but lockdowns r not the answer... schools r always gonna be a risk zone, u cant stop people from doin crazy stuff... 
and honestly, 4 year olds dont even know what's goin on, they just wanna play w/ blocks all day... 
its like we're tryna traumatize kids before they're even born... 
. And what really gets me is that the teachers and principal are trying to reassure everyone that it was unrelated, but it's hard not to think about all the "what ifs". What if they had acted faster? What if more kids were in the building at the time? It's like they're playing with fire here 
. I feel for the parents who have to worry about dropping off their kids every day 
like what if they had walked into school during lockdown? ahhh man, can't even imagine how bad it would've been... hopefully the police catch the perpetrator soon 
and the community starts feeling safer again 
i dont like being kept in the dark about whats goin on... schools shd do better with comms 