North Shore Schools Placed On Lockdown For Possible Threat

All five schools in the North Shore School District were placed on lockdown for about two hours on Monday afternoon while police investigated a possible threat.

Nassau Police told Patch that a parent reported to a principal at a North Shore school at 12:23 p.m. that there was a rumor or possible threat. The police investigation concluded there was no direct or indirect threat made to the school and there were no suspicious postings on social media.

The lockdowns were lifted at 1:58 p.m.

In a statement to parents, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Peter Giarrizzo said: "It is important for you to know, at no point in time today was there an active threat to our students or schools. Your children and our staff did a great job, and I thank them for remaining calm and following our protocols and procedures."

Giarrizzo said a police presence will be at the schools through the end of the day. "I understand this was unsettling and appreciate your patience during these events. We are solely focused on the safety of our students and staff," he said.

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said his department is investigating a Snapchat post that caused alarm to multiple school districts on Monday.

In a statement, he said "Since the horrific Parkland, Florida shootings which occurred on February 14, 2018, Nassau County has experienced a large influx of threats of violence to schools. I would like to assure all Nassau County residents, school personnel and students that all threats received by the Police Department are taken seriously until they are deemed unfounded or non-credible. Numerous investigative resources are expended during these investigations and false threats will never be tolerated. If an individual is found to be in violation of the law for making a school threat, the individual will be charged with 'Making a Terroristic Threat' which is an D Felony punishable up to seven years in prison."

Image via North Shore School District