Teacher at Eastport-South Manor High School opens box of art supplies — and finds box of bullets inside
The teacher at Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School found the bullets in a sealed box within the box of art supplies on Tuesday morning, the schools superintendent said in a statement to families. Credit: Tom Lambui
A routine back-to-school ritual took an alarming turn of events Tuesday when officials said a teacher unpacking a delivery of art supplies to Eastport-South Manor Junior-Senior High School discovered a box of bullets packed with the shipment.
In a statement to the school community Eastport-South Manor Central School District Superintendent Joseph A. Steimel said Suffolk County police were immediately notified of the situation, and that initial indications are the incident is the result of a "severe packaging and shipping error" made by a third-party distributor — and that the bullets appear to have been labeled for shipment to a sporting goods store in Louisiana.
It was not immediately clear how many bullets were in the shipment — or what caliber bullets were involved.
In its statement Tuesday the district stressed the box was sealed and that students and staff were never in any danger.
Police did not immediately comment on the situation.
The arts supplier, Blick Art Materials of Galesburg, Illinois, did not immediately respond to an inquiry seeking comment.
District officials immediately referred all inquiries to a public relations firm representing the district.
In his statement, Steimel said the teacher, who was not identified by name, was "alone in their room, getting ready for the day" — and that teacher was "unpacking a newly delivered box containing a routine new school year supply order" when the surprise find occurred.
The bullets, Steimel said in his emailed statement to the school community, were found in "a separate, sealed box inside the shipment" — a box that, once opened, revealed the bullets.
"The teacher immediately followed our district protocols by halting the unpacking process and notifying building administration and school security," the superintendent wrote, adding: "The Suffolk County Police have been contacted to safely take possession of the item."
Steimel said the district was reaching out to the supplier to investigate "exactly how this logistical error occurred" and to "ensure it does not happen again."
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.
