Dallas ISD is urging parents of students who attend schools in Oak Cliff to remind their children to be extra cautious after a series of after school robberies.
"Most have occurred in the early evening hours, when students are waiting alone to be picked up. We encourage parents to talk to their student about safety and being aware of their surroundings. School administrators have also been informed of these incidents and asked to increase their vigilance," said Robyn Harris, a district spokesperson, in a statement Monday.
Robbers have held students at gunpoint and demanded their belongings -- primarily their cell phones -- Harris said.
Dallas ISD confirmed there have been a total of six incidents at four different schools: Kimball High School, Rosevelt High School, Zan Holmes Middle School and Stockard Middle School.
The parents of the latest victims spoke with NBC 5, hoping to bring more awareness to other parents and more action from the school district.
Adriana Morales and Diana Guerra can't shake their worry and they're upset learning the district knew about previous robberies, but parents were uninformed.
"It makes me angry and scared at the same time because a lot of things could have been prevented. They could have increased patrol after the first incident, Guerra said.
Both parents met with the principal of Stockard Middle School Monday, along with a Dallas ISD police officer.
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"We went in optimistic obviously, hoping that they would give us a solution to what’s been going on. We left frustrated," Guerra said.
"When we talked to the principal, she did state that it was really nothing that they can do because it was out of school campus and then when we talked to the police, police said we can’t do nothing so they’re just throwing the ball at each other," Morales said. "We have not yet received a phone call from detectives from DPD. We have not yet gotten anything else from the school."
Their sons, both seventh-graders at Stockard in Oak Cliff, and another friend were a block away from campus waiting for the ice cream man at about 4:30 p.m. Friday when they say a black Chevy car with four men inside drove up next to them.
"They asked for their phones," Guerra said. "[The boys] told them no. [The robbers] told them, 'Well if you don't get on the ground I'm going to shoot y'all and kill y'all if y'all don't give up your phones.' So they basically pulled out the gun, put it on their backs and made them get on the ground."
"They gave them the phone and they got up and started running which is another concern of mine because you never know if the guys would've gotten upset and shot at them," Morales added.
"Our biggest concern too is the guys threatened them, 'If you tell anybody we'll come back and kill y'all,'" they said.
DISD confirmed these kinds of "unwanted activity" is on the rise at some campuses in the neighborhood.
On Sunday the boys' parents said they had one question: "Where was DISD police, because normally they're out there until about 5 o'clock and no one was out there and this was like right down the street from the school," Guerra said.
Monday, they're left searching for more answers. They want to know whose in charge of patroling the zones just off school grounds -- and why they haven't been seeing warnings from the district sooner. They said the letter released by Dallas ISD Superintendent, Dr. Michael Honojosa on Friday was never emailed to them. They first saw it on social media.
"We didn’t receive anything and I’m with the parent portal and everything," Guerra said.
"I wasn’t aware of the letter. They didn’t get it from school," Morales said.
They are hoping this crime wave leads to better communication and security.
Both mothers said they would not allow their kids to walk home again and have urged them not to commit one mistake again, in refusing to hand over their phones.
"Give it to them," Guerra said. "You're losing your life over a phone."
"A phone you can replace anytime," Morales added. "Life you cannot."
The mothers said the cell phones have been turned off, making it difficult to attempt to track their whereabouts.
The district asked parents to talk to their students about staying in groups, being aware of their surroundings and keeping their cell phones out of sight.
"Dallas ISD Police and the Dallas Police Department are working together to increase security on and around these campuses," Harris said on Monday.
Read the district's full March 1st letter to parents below.
