Bomb Threat at Elwood Middle

Following the discovery by staff around noon on Monday of a threat written on a bathroom wall at the Elwood Middle School, the district posted a message on its website that there was "no credible evidence" for the threat and that Suffolk County Police had examined the message.

On Tuesday morning, the District added the following apology to the website notice:

“We regret not contacting police to alert them to this issue, and extend our apologies to any of our community members who became needlessly concerned as a result." Click here to read the full message.

A parent who requested anonymity contacted Patch to say that he had noticed students outside the school on Monday afternoon in what appeared to be a fire drill. Minutes later he received a  ConnectEd message notifying him of a bomb threat. Noting that there was no sign of police activity at the school, he called the main office and was told that the police had not been contacted.

The man said he immediately called the Suffolk County Second Precinct, and an officer confirmed that they had no record of the incident. He called the school again to confirm that it was a bomb threat, then called the police back. He was connected to 911, and a police officer arrived at his home at approximately 3:15 p.m. At the same time he noticed another police car at the school.

The parent said his child informed him later that day that students were not told of the threat, but participated in two fire drills: one during second period, and one around fifth period.

The Second Precinct confirmed on Tuesday that a parent called yesterday at 1:18 p.m. to report a bomb threat at the school, and was redirected to 911.

Superintendent Peter Scordo's office referred all inquiries about the incident to the district's PR firm, Syntax Communication. A Syntax representative referred reporters to the district’s website.

A phone call and an email to Middle School Principal Hugh Gigante on Tuesday requesting information on the criteria used to determine the credibility of the threat, as well as clarification on the district's procedures regarding bomb threats, were unreturned at the time this article was submitted to Patch.

In January, a was also written in a bathroom at the Middle School. In that case, students were evacuated to nearby John Glenn High School.