Flasher hits Lakewood elementary school

LAKEWOOD, Calif. It's a shocking crime not because it happened at a school, but it happened inside /*Samuel Gompers Elementary School*/ on Briercrest Avenue.

The school was on spring break last week, but they were holding a special program for students when the flasher struck.

The 12-year-old girl was walking down a hallway at the school when the suspect approached her. According to the girl, the man put his hands on her hips and exposed himself. He then began laughing and walked out of the school.

"According to her information, she was touched, and he exposed himself," said principal Gray Lange.

Parents like Brenda Mitchell are clearly shaken up after hearing about the incident.

"I am terrified in my heart," she said.

Mitchell, who has a 10-year-old daughter at the school, said she's also upset to be learning about it Thursday, more than a week after the incident.

"I know that they can notify the parents through automatic phone calls. If this did transpire, and the school knew about it, why didn't we get those automatic calls," she said.

Lange said the spring break program didn't involve any of his staff. He said school officials didn't learn of the incident until Monday, and had to wait for detectives to tell them more.

"We got all the information yesterday on the facts, and the letter was made up and prepared and is being sent out today," he said.

The /*L.A. County Sheriff's Department*/ is passing out fliers with a sketch of the suspect hoping to track him down.

The suspect is described as a white male, 18 to 21 years old with blue eyes and spiked blond hair. He is 5 feet, 6 inches to 5 feet, 8 inches, about 160 pounds, and he was wearing a black hoop earring. The suspect had dirty, crooked and a snake or dragon tattoo on his neck.

He was last seen driving a champagne-colored Chevy Tahoe SUV.

Anyone with information is urged to call the L.A. County Sheriff's Department tip line at (866) 247-5877.


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