By Marley Seaman, Jacquelyn Rath, Doug Miller, and Mike Schnitzel
According to a government official who was briefed by police, the Nassau County Bureau of Special Operations began an operation in Baldwin on Monday morning in which two sets of undercover officers were stationed in banks on Grand Avenue. One set was in the North Fork Bank on Grand Avenue, and another across the street at the Bank of America.
Between 9 a.m. and 9:30, officers spotted a gray Buick Regal they believed had been used in a number of other robberies across Nassau County pulling up in front of the Bank of America. Officials believe the five occupants of the car recognized the police and sped off, with police in pursuit. "They may have been thinking about doing the other bank," said Detective Lt. Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the Nassau County police.
After several blocks, the car hopped a curb and hit a tree on Marion Place, Smith said. One of the occupants got out of the vehicle and pointed a .38-caliber revolver at the officers, Smith said, and an officer responded by firing at least six shots at him. All five suspects then fled on foot. One was apprehended underneath the deck of a house on Beech Street, and the suspect who allegedly pointed the weapon at the police was caught on Miller Place. The other three suspects were last seen fleeing north on foot. One of the two suspects in custody is believed by police to be the ringleader.
The names of the suspects were not released. The search was called off at about 1 p.m. Monday.
The police have linked this group of men to at least seven other robberies in Baldwin, West Hempstead, Hempstead and Westbury. Government officials said they were also suspects in a casino boat robbery in Freeport last summer. They are believed to have been involved in the robbery of the North Fork bank on Grand Avenue on Oct. 28, in which they escaped with an unknown amount of cash.
The incident affected much of the area, with schools in Baldwin, Rockville Centre, Freeport, Hempstead, Lynbrook, East Rockaway and even Merrick locking their doors or summoning parents to retrieve their children. There were no reported injuries to bystanders or school children, and the schools were closed only as a precaution.
While the region is becoming ever more familiar with gang violence, a police shootout on the Monday morning of Thanksgiving week was still a bit more than many could process, and several businesses in the district closed for the day. Employees of one store on Grand Avenue said they believe they saw one of the suspects run by, and employees at another business on Grand Avenue said they had encountered an out-of-breath man asking where he could find a cab.
Police believe the man did get a cab ride, but apparently had no money. The driver let him out a few blocks farther north on Grand, and the man took off running. The driver, Harvey Jacoby of Baldwin Harbor, was still a bit unnerved by the encounter. "This is a more dangerous job than the police," said Jacoby, a driver for Dawson Taxi for 15 years. "They have a gun - what have I got?"
Schools throughout the area were described as locked down, meaning no one could enter or leave without official clearance. School officials said that classes were conducted without interruption.
All 10 Baldwin schools were locked down at around 9:50 a.m. and stayed closed until 1 p.m. During that time, students could not leave the building without their parents, staff could not travel between buildings and lunch was brought in for the students who normally go home for it.
The precautions were extended to schools across much of the South Shore. "The best thing to do is to keep the kids in the building, where adults can supervise them," said Dr. Arnold Dodge, the East Rockaway superintendent of schools.
Students and parents appeared to take the dramatic developments in stride. "I feel nervous that they could be out there, but I'm glad the school did what it did," said Elizabeth Tisdell, who was picking up her children from their elementary school in Lynbrook. "This keeps the kids safe and the parents informed."
Students seemed more saddened than scared that such violence would find its way to their community.
At East Rockaway High School, the lockdown began for several students immediately after they had left a "Rachel's Challenge" assembly, an anti-school-violence rally organized by the survivors of Rachel Scott, a student who was killed in the 1999 murder spree at Columbine High School in Colorado. "It's ironic that this violence is still going on," said student Mark Craven after coming out of the assembly.
Comments about this story? DMiller@liherald.com or (5126) 569-4000 ext. 213.
Photos by Phillip Datz/Herald
