Parent Of LI HS Student Threatened To Shoot, Blow Up School: PD

DIX HILLS, NY — A man was arrested Thursday after Suffolk police said he threatened to cause mass harm at a school in Dix Hills.

Christopher Ryan, 42, of Patchogue, called Half Hollow Hills East High School, at 50 Vanderbilt Parkway, on Tuesday and threatened to shoot and blow up the school, police said. Officers arrested Ryan near his home at 3:40 p.m., police said.

Ryan, a parent of the school district, left "several inappropriate messages on the voicemail" of a central office administrator, Superintendent Patrick Harrigan told the Half Hollow Hills community in a letter obtained by Patch. The messages included threatening statements made toward the administrator and others, Harrigan said.

The district contacted the Suffolk County Police Department, filed a report and has been cooperating with the ongoing investigation, Harrigan said. Ryan was also banned from all district properties and school-sponsored events, the superintendent said.

"The district takes threats of any kind very seriously and thanks the Suffolk County Police Department for helping to ensure the safety and security of our employees and students," Harrigan stated.

Ryan was charged with making a threat of mass harm, a class B misdemeanor. He is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Friday.