Enloe students urged to take precautions

RALEIGH -- More than 100 parents, students and neighbors turned out Tuesday night to discuss security issues at Enloe High School on Raleigh's east side.

The Parent, Teacher & Student Association meeting drew a packed house in response to two December attacks.

Last month, a student was robbed at gunpoint walking to school on Bertie Drive near campus. Two men, one of whom was armed, took the student's iPod. Around the same time nearby, another student reported being approached and pushed down by two men, one of whom had a knife. Police and school security have since been stepped up.

Principal Beth Cochran said the school is cracking down on trespassers on campus who do not stop and sign in before walking the halls. A school resource officer, she stressed, is on campus every day.

At the meeting, parents and students were urged to leave valuables at home -- never inside cars where criminals might be tempted. They were also discouraged from walking alone.

But several officials stressed that Enloe is not the only spot in Wake County experiencing problems.

Student Amelia Lumpkin said that she knows of some items that have been stolen in her years at Enloe but that overall she feels safe.