After Threat, District Seeks School Security Feedback With Survey

RIVERHEAD, NY — Just weeks after a threat triggered a school lockdown, the Riverhead Central School District's Board of Education and administration are asking for feedback from parents and the community residents on school safety.

Residents are asked to participate in the short, anonymous survey to assist the district in its commitment to providing a safe and secure learning environment for its students, school officials said.

The survey, which is available in English and Spanish, can be accessed on the announcements section of the website by clicking here, beginning on Friday, March 15 through April 1. The deadline to complete the survey is April 1.

A 16-year old was arrested last month after a 911 call regarding a "possible act of violence" at Riverhead High School, police said.

The Riverhead Police Department received the 911 call; police dispatch isolated the 911 call and it was determined that the call was made from a cell phone within Riverhead High School, police said. Riverhead patrol units were dispatched to the high school, where an initial investigation was conducted with school administrators and security; as a precaution, the school was placed on lockdown during the initial response, police said.

Riverhead Police detectives were notified and responded to the school, and, during the initial investigation, it was determined that the 911 call was isolated involving two individual students who were in attendance at the school, police said.

Interviews were conducted at Riverhead Police headquarters with all involved, police said.

A 16-year old male student was arrested and charged as a result of the ongoing investigation; he was charged with one count of third degree falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor, police said.

No students were injured or in any immediate danger as a result of the 911 call being made, police said.

The Riverhead High School lockdown and district wide lockout were lifted after the "racist threat", according to a message on the district's website.

"The lockout and lockdown have been lifted. Schools will proceed with a normal day. Thank you for your cooperation as we handled this matter," the district said.

But the earlier part of the day sparked concerns, and an earlier message from the district said, "Riverhead High School is now under lockdown. All other schools remain on lockout."

Earlier that morning, the district said that the Riverhead Town Police Department "informed district administration that a racist threat was made against students at Riverhead High School. As the police and district security investigate the credibility of this threat, all Riverhead Central School District schools are on lockout. A lockout prohibits any visitor from entering the building. We will update you as soon as more information is available."

Following the incident, Riverhead Central School District's Superintendent of Schools Dr. Aurelia L. Henriquez posted a message on the district's website on March 1: "While Tuesday’s incident was alarming, I am proud of how our Riverhead administrators and teachers worked together with our security team and Riverhead police to ensure the safety of our students and staff. When we first heard of the threat, all schools went into an immediate lockout. Within minutes, the high school switched to a lockdown because we were told the threat could have come from within the building," she said.

"This was an important and necessary change, because at that point the matter was being investigated. I understand that some may not have agreed with the decision and some may believe that teaching should have continued without a lockdown. However, I firmly believed the decisions that we made on Tuesday were necessary to ensure the safety of all within our buildings," Henriquez wrote.

"While these incidents are scary for students and staff, we will always act quickly to ensure that our students and staff will return home safely to their families each day. We take these threats very seriously, and I will always react as if one of my own children is in class beside your children. We will review Tuesday’s incident and our response internally and make any adjustments to our security plan as needed," the superintendent wrote. "I commend our students and staff for their cooperation on Tuesday and thank you, our parents and community, for your continued patience and trust."

She added that any students who might be having difficulty processing the incident can reach out to her or staff directly for additional support. "My door is always open," she said.