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A 15-year-old Chicago girl is in serious condition after she was hit on the head, dragged between two houses and raped just a block away from a school “Safe Passage” route  —  a city program that places police and patrols on the street for students to get to and from school safely.

But local authorities note that the victim was walking to school on Tuesday in the early morning hours, a half hour before her Safe Passage route was staffed with patrols.

After the attack, she lay in the cold for two hours before she was discovered, conscious but barely moving. Now, concerned parents and residents are questioning the safety of the program, which was implemented to combat Chicago’s growing gun-violence.

“Everybody is scared. It can happen to any of our kids, so everybody is worried,” Ada Cambron, a parent, said Thursday. “In the morning, you never see police walking around and stuff like that.”

When told that police officers were patrolling the Safe Passages on foot on Thursday, Cambron acknowledged the police presence but noted it took the rape of a student to prompt the patrol.

“It shouldn’t be that way,” she said.

Still, authorities are suggesting that it wasn’t the fault of the absent patrols.

Ariel Reboyras, the alderman representing the area where the assault occurred, defended the Safe Passage program. The student rape occurred about 6 a.m. when it was still dark outside.

“We can’t say it was a result of a problem with Safe Passage, but we know that it’s not supposed to happen,” the alderman said.

Police have yet to find the suspect.

SOURCE: CNN | VIDEO SOURCE: News, Inc.