Port Jefferson Ferry Active Shooter Drill Ensures Latest Training: PD

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — A group of law enforcement agencies will be taking part in an active shooter drill at Port Jefferson Ferry on Wednesday morning, Suffolk police said Tuesday evening.

The drill will take place between 9:30 and 11 a.m., according to a news release from the department.

An email was circulated by community members on Monday about the drill.

Port Jefferson Ferry representatives did not respond to a request for comment about the drill.

A news release from the police department on Tuesday said that at about 100 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies, including Suffolk police and the United States Coast Guard, as well as personnel from the Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, will take part in the drill.

The drill is all part of Suffolk police’s “commitment to ensure law enforcement throughout the region have the latest training for active shooter scenarios as well as training to stop the bleed on wounded individuals,” department officials stated in the release.

The ferry had a brush with a threat last month.

A Connecticut man was charged last month with terrorism after authorities say he threatened the Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Ferry with a bomb attack on Sept. 14, according to published reports.

Coast Guard officials told Eyewitness News the call came into Bridgeport police just before noon, with the caller saying a bomb was going to go off at the Port Jefferson Ferry in Bridgeport in the afternoon.

The Bridgeport terminal was evacuated but for a swarm of investigators who conducted a sweep of the building and the ships before clearing the scene, the outlet reported. Police told News 8 that any interruption to the ferry was minimal and described the bomb threat as non-credible.

The ferry service was back up and running just before 2 p.m., according to Eyewitness News.

Trevon Phidd, a 31-year-old Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company food services worker from West Haven, was charged with two counts of act of terrorism, two counts of misuse of 911 system, and two counts of breach of peace second-degree, according to reports.

He was being held on a $500,000 bond, according to the reports.

News 12 reported that Phidd was also charged in connection with making threats on Sept. 6.

The ferries were evacuated after a possible bomb threat was called in, the Coast Guard confirmed with Patch.

The threat was received around 1 p.m., a coast guard spokesperson confirmed, adding that both ferries, which were docked in New York and Connecticut, had been evacuated out of caution, but no devices were found.

The ferries resumed their normal schedules at about 4:15 p.m., coast guard officials said.

County Executive Steve Bellone announced an additional $100,000 in funding to double the amount of active shooter drills Suffolk police would hold in 2022, as well as extending participation to all law enforcement agencies throughout the county.

Suffolk has hosted several active shooter exercises this year at hospitals, schools, and supermarkets to prepare officers to respond to different emergency scenarios and ensure they have the latest training, police officials said.

Maureen Mullarkey contributed additional reporting to this story.