Crime & Safety

WPD, Schools Warn of Suspicious Men Trying to Lure Students

School Department advises parents of kids who walk to school to send them in groups.

Reports of men attempting to lure Woonsocket students away with them, one of them this week, prompted a warning letter from the Woonsocket Education Department to parents Thursday.

"We have two reports that some juveniles were approached," said Woonsocket Police Det. Jamie Paone, public information officer and a juvenile detective. Paone said the latest report occurred mid-week. The other report came in during the beginning of the school year, Paone said. She said the department is not releasing the location of the incidents at this time.

During the incidents, the men reportedly asked the juveniles to get into a car or to walk away with them.

The Woonsocket Education Department was not immediately able to provide a copy of the letter, but WPRI.com has included it in their coverage of the reports. [UPDATE - 8:50 a.m.: The WED has since provided a copy of the letter, attached to this article.] "We ask that you discuss with your children that under no circumstances are they to get into a car or go with anyone they do not know," the letter reads.

The letter also advises parents that if their children walk to school, they should do so in groups.


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