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The wave of police-related incidents disrupting learning at schools across Long Island during the first few weeks of the school year continued Thursday with a bomb threat at a Patchogue middle school.
Suffolk County Police detectives are investigating the threat, which was emailed overnight to Patchogue-Medford Schools officials and indicated that a bomb had been planted on the second floor of South Ocean Avenue Middle School, police said.
After police were notified about the threat at 7:50 a.m., officers with the police department’s Emergency Service Section checked the school on South Ocean Avenue and determined the threat was not credible.
Meanwhile, parents at the school were notified about the situation in a series of emailed messages from Patchogue-Medford Schools Superintendent Donna Jones, the first of which came in at 8:30 a.m., after most of the students had been dropped off at the school.
“No students were allowed in the building once they began arriving,” Jones said in the initial correspondence with district community members. “Walkers were directed to South Ocean’s field, and the buses were taken to Bay Elementary School. Walkers were then transported to Bay, and all students are safe in the Bay gymnasium.”
Some parents were upset with the school district’s response, particularly questioning why students were allowed to be dropped off near the school and then taken to a nearby elementary school after the threat was discovered, and before investigators had cleared the building for re-entry.
In the Facebook video below, a parent confronts Jones about this concern.
Jones went on to say in her first email that the police were thoroughly searching the school. She implored parents not pick up their children from Bay Elementary School.
“Once the building is clear, all South Ocean students will return to the building,” she wrote.
Jones followed up with a second email ay 9:13 a.m., updating the community that the bomb threat was determined by police to be “unsubstantiated.”
“The building was fully cleared by police and established as safe. We are in the process of returning students, administrators, faculty, and staff to the building,” she wrote.
Finally, at 10:17 a.m., Jones reported to the community that “The District is aware of a general online threat that has been circulating throughout school districts across the region and the country this week.”
The threat, she said in her third email, refers to a three-part plan that includes the pulling of a fire alarm.
“Law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security have assessed the situation and determined that this threat is unsubstantiated and that this is not a direct or specific threat to our schools,” Jones wrote. “The safety of our students and staff are our highest priorities. We will continue to work alongside law enforcement to ensure a safe and secure learning environment for your children. We understand that the nationwide circulation of messages such as this one can be very upsetting.”
Jones added that counselors are available to speak with students in need of support.
The threat at the Patchogue school is the latest in a series of police-involved incidents reported at schools across Long Island since the school year began just over two weeks ago. Notable incidents include:
• William Floyd School District officials enacted a “hold-in-place” Tuesday morning at the high school after the district received an anonymous call concerning the possible presence of a former student in the building. The report was unfounded, the district said.
• On Friday, cops arrested a 13-year-old boy for possessing brass knuckles at Samoset Middle School in Lake Ronkonkoma. The teen was asked to empty his bag by an employee of the school for an unrelated incident when the brass knuckles were discovered. The student was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
• Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale had four consecutive days of bomb threats last week. In each case, investigators searched the school and the threats were unfounded.
• On Sept. 11, a school threat made on social media was mistakenly believed to be against a Riverhead school, police said. School officials were contacted and extra police patrols were conducted at the Riverhead school, before police and school officials determined that the threat was made against a school with a similar name but located in another state.
• Police arrested two Sachem High School North students on Sept. 5, following a dispute during which one of the teens brought a knife to school.
• Cops on Sept. 4 arrested a 15-year-old Lindenhurst boy after he allegedly threatened to shoot people at his West Babylon school during an online chat with classmates, police said.
Top image: Pat-Med Schools Superintendent Donna Jones speaks with parents Thursday morning outside of South Ocean Middle School (Facebook/Erin Kristine video still)
