By JOSEPH KELLARD and JEFF LIPTON
The messages ‹ one discovered in a boys¹ bathroom on April 17, and the other in a girls¹ bathroom two days later ‹ are being investigated by police. The threats came not only in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, but almost eight years to the day after two student gunmen terrorized Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
The message found in the boys¹ bathroom, in the south wing of the school, was written in marker on a hand dryer and read something like, ³April 20, 2007 Columbine and Oceanside High School,² according to reports.
Police were immediately notified, and patrols around the school were intensified, particularly during morning arrival and afternoon dismissal, officials said.
³We¹re doing intensive patrols of all schools, particularly at Oceanside High School, after some graffiti was found there,² said Inspector Richard McCarrick, 4th Precinct commander. McCarrick called it ³fairly common² for threatening messages to appear in schools after a tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech.
Superintendent Dr. Herb Brown said the school district was taking the threats very seriously, bolstering security last Friday, with school security personnel searching all backpacks as students entered the high school. Brown said the day was uneventful, with 65 percent of students attending, and praised security and high school staff for doing ³a great job.²
The message in the girls¹ bathroom was a copycat of the one in the boys¹ bathroom, Brown explained. ³The first one caused the second one,² he said. ³We¹re trying to find out who is doing it, and police are helping us.²
The superintendent said that social studies teachers made sure to discuss with their students the tragedies at Virginia Tech and Columbine and the general safety of their school. In addition, Principal Dorie Ciulla sent letters to students¹ homes informing parents about the messages that were found and what the school is doing about the threats. ³Our staff, including our security guards, are aware of the situation, and, as always, will be vigilant,² Ciulla wrote.
³Parents have been calling the high school and calling me,² Brown said. ³Parents wanted to know that if they should send their child [to school on Friday], what we are doing to keep their child safe.²
Despite the extra security measures, OHS students said they were still extremely frightened by the whole ordeal. Nick Arlotta said he was bothered by the written threats, and heard that many students were staying out of school on Friday as a result.
³I¹m not going to school at all tomorrow,² junior Jessica Bitulano said on Thursday. ³A lot of people were killed the other day [at Virginia Tech], and now this has to happen. I don¹t know what this world is coming to, really. My teacher said there¹s going to be a lockdown tomorrow, but I¹m not going to be here.²
³I was really, really shocked,² sophomore Jesse Galloway said after hearing about the messages. ³It was really, really scary. I was scared the whole entire day.²
³It was like really scary to hear they found something like that in the bathroom,² added sophomore Jillian Doherty.
One sophomore, who identified himself only as Rob, said, ³I¹m probably not going to go [Friday]. Just because they found another [note], and it¹s just better to be safe than be sorry.²
Mike, a senior, said, ³At first I was a little bit scared, but not so much because I don¹t think anything would really happen. I¹m going to come to school tomorrow. I have way too many absences not to come.²
One parent waiting for her child outside OHS on Thursday afternoon said she was unaware that threats were made. ³I understand that papers have to report on this, but I think if we focus too much on the [Virginia Tech] killer and these types of incidents, it will create more of them.²
³There was a lot less traffic pulling up to the high school this morning,² said a mother who drove her son to OHS on Friday.
The concern was not limited to high school parents and students. In a letter sent to School 3 parents last Thursday, Principal Dr. Jill DeRosa wrote, ³Unfortunately, there was graffiti with a Columbine-like reference made at Oceanside High School earlier this week ... I want to assure you that this threat had no connection to School #3 and that the police and school administration at the high school are aggressively seeking out the people who wrote this.²
Some parents whose children attend the district¹s elementary, middle and high schools said they were communicating with one another via phone and e-mail and making arrangements to keep their children home.
Cathline Shelly, who has a son in School 3 and a daughter in Oceanside Middle School, said she was not worried and sent her children to school. ³I got a letter home from School 3, and that¹s all I know,² she said. ³I knew that they were taking precautions and that everyone would be safe.²
The recent threats come more than two months after police and school authorities investigated another incident at OHS in which a student allegedly sent a computer message referring to Columbine, officials said.
The student, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, allegedly mentioned in the message that on Feb. 14, ³another Columbine² could occur at OHS, according to police. The boy was suspended, but no criminal charges were filed because of the way the message was worded, police said.
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
