Valley Stream North H.S. gets false bomb threat

Rumors abound as students call home, hit social media

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Students and faculty at North High School in Franklin Square were put on lockdown and some were evacuated Tuesday morning while a bomb threat was investigated by Nassau County Police.

School administrators received a call reporting a bomb inside the school as classes started. Police arrived and barred anyone from entering or exiting the property while they began a search of the building.

Police swept the campus, focusing on areas where students congregated, including the cafeteria, gym and locker room. Police identified a suspicious package in the locker room that turned out to be filled with athletic gear. Students were evacuated from the cafeteria to buses outside the school so police could search the room. Many sent text messages and made phone calls to parents as the search proceeded.

Police declared the threat false and campus was reopened at 11:45 a.m.

Valley Stream Central High School District officials contacted parents through a recorded phone message informing parents of the threat and that the school had been declared safe. Superintendent Bill Heidenreich said the district wanted to wait until police had solid information before alarming parents.

“We actually had three separate messages typed out throughout the day that we were ready to send to parents and community members, but as soon as we were ready to send them out, the information we had would change,” Heidenreich explained. “We wanted to ensure that we presented the community with factual, accurate information.”

He said students spread word of the events as they unfolded via phones and social media, but much of the information was inaccurate.

“We had parents calling in for most of the day as they heard from their children or from other members of our community about the threat, but oftentimes their information was wrong,” he said. “We were hearing rumors of a school shooting at North, all types of rumors that weren’t true. We told anyone that called that there is an active police investigation, but everyone is safe, and we will let you know more when we have new information.”

Heidenreich said some parents removed their children from school after campus was reopened but the school day continued as normal.

“There is an ongoing criminal investigation by the Nassau County Police Department to determine who placed the threat and why it was placed,” Heidenreich said. “We plan to prosecute whoever made the threat to the fullest extent of the law.”