ROSCOE VILLAGE — Three eighth-graders in Lane Tech's Academic Center program were robbed at gunpoint as they left school Friday afternoon, the father of one of the students confirmed.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m. in the school's parking lot near Western and Addison, according to the parent.
The suspect, an older teenage male approximately six feet tall, was not recognized as a fellow Lane student by the three victims, all of whom were boys.
According to the father, the gunman pointed and cocked a semi-automatic pistol at the students and demanded their phones, backpacks, money and keys.
None of the students were injured, the parent said.
"Crime is seeping into all of the neighborhoods," said the father. "It's kind of out of control."
A police report was filed involving the incident for an armed robbery with a handgun, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a Chicago Police spokeswoman.
In 2013, parents had complained that Lane Tech was the only CPS high school without security cameras.
Parents became increasingly concerned about security given the construction of two new public facilities adjacent to the school's campus: Kerry Wood Cubs Field and the Clark Park boathouse.
CPS responded that cameras would be added in phases.
The school sent an email to parents, staff and students Friday evening informing them of the robbery: "Chicago Police and CPS Office of Safety and Security have both been contacted. A full investigation is underway."
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