Update: State Says Bus Threat 'Not Credible'

In a follow-up letter to school districts Wednesday, the state Education Department said law enforcement authorities are taking the bus  threat seriously and continuing to investigate, but are "not considering this a credible threat at this time."

alerted parents and partnered with its bus companies to ensure the safety of district students earlier today, following an email threat sent to state officials that referenced attacking school buses.

"Our district administrators are working with our bus companies to ensure that all bus drivers review the information from the State and enhance their pre-and post- inspection routines for all bus routes," said Assistant Superintendent Barbara Horsley.

Horsley said Farmingdale, like all other Long Island schools, received correspondence from the Department of Education on Tuesday informing the district to take extra precautions near bus stops and routes due to "information the state acquired."

Farmingdale district parents were notified Wednesday afternoon and parents were encouraged to report anything suspicious to the central administration. Safety is the district's "highest priority," Horsley said.

The threatening email, received by state officials April 1, made references to the terrorist organization al Qaida and the recent shooting of Congresswoman

The chilling in part, said:

"If we attack a school bus full of kids, it may have no effect on the hardened criminals that rule Albany. But it will put the public in an uproar. Our goal is to create anarchy. You'll have to kill us to stop us." 

U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-Massapequa, chairman of the House Homeland Security committee, issued a short statement Wednesday on the alert, saying "I am confident that law enforcement officials, particularly the will do everything possible to prevent any attack from happening.”

A King spokesman, Kevin Fogarty, said King was not informed of the threat by the state Education Department. King's district includes parts of Farmingdale and stretches across eastern Nassau County from Long Island Sound to the Atlantic.

The state Office of Counter Terrorism said that other than reporting suspicious activity or communications to the state Intelligence Center there is "currently no information that suggests a change in planned activities."

The anonymous threat was sent from an untraceable email and made terrorist threats against state office buildings, the state Legislature and specific references to attacking school buses, authorities said.

The state's message urged school bus drivers to take additional safety precautions, saying bus inspections should be conducted with "an added sense of caution and urgency." Drivers were told to report any suspicious individual who attempted to board a bus.

Bus companies have taken added safety precautions since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, said Carmen Tomeo, vice president of ., Long Island’s largest school bus company. 

“After 9/11, we’ve been getting alerts and we’ve heightened our safety procedures both inside and outside the vehicles,” Tomeo said. The procedures are taught to all drivers during training classes.

Those measures include a “pre-trip” safety check of lights and other equipment and a “post trip” inspection primarily designed to look for sleeping children or items left behind. Both inspections require a driver to check off a list of safety items for each inspection. Drivers are required to walk around the vehicle on both inspections.

The recent alert caused We Transport and other bus companies to increase the security measures, Tomeo said. Drivers have been instructed to look for suspicious packages and report any suspicious people in the vicinity of company vehicles.

Tomeo said that since 9/11, it’s important to remain vigilant: “You can’t let anything drop off the table,” he said.

“We didn’t want to alarm the parents but we told the dispatchers to make sure they are doing their pre- and post-trips and implementing all their safety checks,” Tomeo said.

Tomeo stressed there have been no incidents reported by any of the company’s drivers since the alert was issued.  Plainview-based We Transport Inc. and it’s affiliated companies employ 1,200 drivers who make about 1,000 routes daily in Nassau and Suffolk counties, New York City and Bridgeport, Conn.

The State Police, state Office of Counter Terrorism and the FBI are investigating the issue along with other local law enforcement agencies.

The state’s warning urged bus companies to increase their usual safety precautions:

“We encourage all drivers and attendants to be watchful for unknown individuals or any suspicious or unusual behavior along their routes or at bus stops as well as individuals approaching the school bus,” the state’s message said. “Drivers should be particularly strict about unknown or unauthorized individuals attempting to board the school bus.”