2 Nassau County high schools evacuated after unfounded threats, police say
Police investigating a threat against Freeport High School on Friday in Freeport. Credit: Newsday / Howard Schnapp
Two Nassau County high schools received unfounded threats Friday — one of them for the fourth time in as many days — forcing them to be evacuated, according to police and school officials.
For the fourth straight day, a threat was made to Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, Nassau police said.
Meanwhile, Freeport police found that a phone threat to Freeport High School, which forced the evacuation of the building and a police sweep Friday morning, was not credible, school officials said.
Kellenberg received a threat of an explosive device Friday, police said. Authorities swept the building and the threat was determined to be unfounded, a police spokesman said.
The school received three similar threats from Tuesday through Thursday.
An effort to reach a school spokesman was unsuccessful Friday night.
Kellenberg Principal Brother Kenneth Hoagland, in a message to parents Thursday, said, “Please be aware, we are working cooperatively with the Nassau County Police Department to identify the ultimate source of these threats.”
In Freeport, Superintendent Fia Davis relayed a message to the community: "This morning, the Freeport Police Department received a call with a report of a possible threat in Freeport High School. We immediately evacuated the building and both the Freeport Police Department and Nassau County Police conducted a sweep," the statement said.
"Additionally, Homeland Security arrived to conduct additional searches inside the building. After sweeping the building, the police were able to confirm the threat was not credible," the statement said.
Regarding that incident, Nassau and Freeport police didn't respond to a request for comment but the statement said they are continuing to investigate.
The Freeport school district had sent out an alert earlier Friday morning to families with students who attend Freeport High School, saying the facility had been evacuated after the anonymous threat.
Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said Nassau police received the threat at about 7:30 a.m.
The threat reported multiple bombs in the high school and two armed shooters inside the building, Kennedy said.
The high school was cleared by 10:30 a.m. Friday and students were allowed to return to the building.
"There were no bombs found, there were no suspects in the building, and the building has been cleared," Kennedy said later Friday morning.
Kennedy said police and school officials have been monitoring other threats and swatting calls to schools.
He said the threats pull officers away from other incidents and schools where they are needed, including deploying the Nassau County bomb squad and K-9 unit.
"Unfortunately, I think when one threat like this comes in, it gets media press and other people are out there doing the same thing. Thank God our students are safe," Kennedy said. "It’s a tremendous strain on finances."
Kennedy said police practice drills in schools so they know the layout of the buildings and where to search in case of a real emergency.
With Robert Brodsky, Nicholas Spangler and Joie Tyrrell
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
