Bomb scare at Carey

A bomb threat was left on the voice-mail system of a member of the H. Frank Carey High School administration on April 27 around 11:10 p.m. The threat was made after the Sewanhaka Central High School District Board of Education meeting that night.

Robert Psoinas, deputy commanding officer of the Nassau County Police Department’s 5th Precinct, said that the school official listened to the voice mail at around 8:20 a.m. last Thursday, and it claimed that a bomb would go off at 8:30 a.m. that day. The school was immediately evacuated, and the police and fire departments were notified, Psoinas said.

The NCPD searched the building at around 9 a.m., assisted by school custodians and other staff members, Psoinas said, and determined that the building was safe. The 5th Precinct’s bomb squad was not called, he said, because the Police Department determined that that was unnecessary, as no evidence of a bomb was found in the school. Students were permitted back into Carey at around 10 a.m.

Psoinas said that most bomb threats are phoned in by students attempting to close down the school building for the day. In other instances, however, he added, people are “just trying to create fear,” and that was likely the motive of the individual who left the voice mail last Wednesday. The message was not left by a student, Psoinas said.

According to police, the voice was that of an adult male. It has also been determined that the caller used a pay phone on Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont. The message could have been left by someone who attended the Sewanhaka Board of Education meeting on Thursday, which ended just over an hour before the call was made, police said.

Before the meeting, students, parents and administration members gathered for a sports awards ceremony in Sewanhaka High School’s auditorium.

During the board meeting, several parents of students in the district spoke publicly about their concerns. Felix Procacci asked about teachers’ contracts and new clocks being installed by the district, Cammi Spillane spoke to the board about her unease with the district’s English as a Second Language program, and Asya Blue inquired about whether the district provides opportunities for students to attend the Long Island High School for the Arts.

A Sewanhaka district resident, who declined to be identified, said that the school administration recognized the voice on the message as that of a Franklin Square resident. “Not only is the person endangering the lives of the regular students, they are endangering a lot of people’s lives — the firemen, the policemen and anyone who is involved in a threat like this,” the resident said.

Psoinas said that the 5th Squad is investigating the case.

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