Four Disconnected 911 Calls Triggered Aquebogue Elementary Lockdown, Police Say

Four disconnected 911 calls placed from a 911-only phone near Aquebogue Elementary School sent Riverhead Police to the campus and pushed the school into lockdown shortly before 1 p.m. on March 12, Police Chief Ed Frost said.

Frost said the caller sounded like a young female, with other young females audible in the background. Each of the four calls disconnected before police could gather more information. Officers responded and swept the scene; no threat was found, Frost said.

The calls originated from a 911-only phone located near the school, though the precise placement of that phone has not been publicly identified. The nature of the calls, whether accidental, a prank, or otherwise, has not been determined by police, and no charges or identifications have been announced.

While the outcome was described as a "best case scenario," the episode drew pointed remarks from school staff at the Riverhead Central School District board meeting five days later. Simoes, a literacy coach at Aquebogue Elementary and vice president of the Riverhead Central Faculty Association, addressed the board on March 17 and made clear that no drill had prepared staff for what the real thing felt like.

"Those in a lockdown firsthand know it is significantly different from any drills that we routinely practice each year," Simoes said.

The remarks put into relief a gap that emergency planners across school districts routinely face: practiced procedures, however thorough, compress the uncertainty and stress that arrive with an unannounced, real-time threat. At Aquebogue Elementary, even a lockdown that ended without incident left an impression on the adults inside the building.

Riverhead Police have not announced whether the origin of the calls remains under active investigation or whether the 911-only phone's ownership or maintenance is being reviewed.