Letter: Students ‘uncomfortable’ after overhearing game

Suffolk police responded to a report at a Bayport elementary school Wednesday that some students were disturbed after hearing another student’s comment about a bomb, said the district’s top administrator.

But Bayport-Blue Point Schools Superintendent Timothy Hearney said in a note to residents that the student’s comments were actually part of a game that challenges players to stop a bomb from exploding.

Hearney said police determined the false alarm was a misinterpretation by students at Academy Street Elementary School. No arrests were made or citations given, school officials said.

Police declined comment on the incident.

“Several students reported to building staff that they heard a fellow student make a comment that left them uncomfortable and feeling unsafe,” Hearney wrote.

“As is protocol, the Suffolk County Police Department was notified of the report and officers conducted an investigation into the matter,” he added. “At this time, the police have deemed the incident to be of no cause for concern to the safety of our students and/or staff.”

Hearney said that the concerned students overheard another student who was playing a game that simulated Rainbow Six Siege, a video game in which players engage in scenarios that include trying to defuse a bomb.

“During the activity words and phrases commonly used while playing the video game were overheard, alarming students,” Hearney wrote. “While troublesome, and an inappropriate activity for school, it should be noted that no dangerous objects were involved.”

Still, Hearney said the principal of the school would be speaking with students about the incident and instructing them “to refrain from such activities.”

He also asked parents to start a dialogue with kids.

“In the world that we live in today – where the news is flooded with stories about tragedies happening in even the safest of communities – it is understandable why a simulation like this could be unnerving for our students,” he wrote.

“I encourage you to have conversations with your children and remind them that certain references or words can be easily be taken out of context by someone listening nearby,” the note continued. “It is our hope, that by working together, we can continue to help our students feel safe and secure at all times.”