Lockout lifted after Massapequa High School evacuated by unspecified 'threat,' police say

Massapequa High School students were returning to class on a two-hour delay Monday after their building was evacuated due to what Nassau police said was an unspecified "threat." 

Police said they were notified of that threat at 6:45 a.m. and that patrol officers responded to the school, along with a canine unit and arson/bomb squad officers.

In a statement to Newsday on Monday, the district said the main high school campus had been placed on lockout status as a result of the threat, but was subsequently cleared by police without additional incident. The lockout was lifted at 8:35 a.m.

Officials said the school will operate on a two-hour delay the rest of Monday.

In a message to the school community issued Monday, district officials said that over a two-hour period, "a coordinated and thorough grid search of the building was conducted by district security staff and the Nassau County Police Department, including patrol units, Emergency Service Unit officers, and detectives. Once the search was completed and authorities confirmed the building was secure and safe the lockout was lifted at approximately 8:35 a.m."

Police did not release specifics of the threat, saying only that it involved a message called in to the school and that the building had been evacuated.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.