School Reports Suspicious Activity; Parents Weren't Notified

Parents are upset that they are just now learning about suspicious activity that happened two weeks ago outside Eastover Elementary School. Police said young kids were being photographed and others were being approached.

According to police, the incidents happened during the first week of school. The kids were on the playground at Eastover Elementary when a man came from behind the bushes and called a little boy toward him, police said.

Police said a teacher stopped the child and the man drove off in an ice cream truck. The teacher said she immediately told her principal.

"The safety of my children is my first priority," said Eastover Principal Vanessa Ashford.

Ashford called police, her boss and school security, and the teacher called the boy's parents. But no one contacted other parents at Eastover.

"I found out about it from another parent at my child's school. And I found out that other parents didn't know about the incident," said parent Diana Carter.

Carter said she heard about the incident only a few days ago. She was especially concerned when she learned that the man had a camera and had been seen with his ice cream truck at Myers Park Traditional School. That time, police were able to track him and his camera down.

"The fact that he was making pictures like that was curious, but we found nothing in his digital camera to indicate that he had done anything illegal," said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Sgt. Randy Hagler.

Hagler said the man was arrested for trespassing. When he showed up at Myers Park again, information was shared with the students' parents. It wasn't until Friday that parents at Eastover got a similar letter.

"I think, as a parent, you need to be informed so you can protect your child as well as other children," said Carter.

Police arrested Tomer Messinger, a 22-year-old Israeli citizen. Authorities have started deportation proceedings, but Messinger is out on bond until his next hearing.