Hicksville schools release lockdown, Stewart Avenue reopened after police apprehend pedestrian with gun

Two Hicksville schools were releasing students after lockdowns and road closures that lasted hours Monday as police responded to a "distraught" pedestrian with a gun to his head, authorities said Monday afternoon.

The pedestrian, a male, was spotted about 2:30 p.m. in the area of Straw Lane, and officers later surrounded him in a parking lot on Stewart Avenue, Nassau police said.

The standoff ended about 5 p.m. when the pedestrian was taken without incident to a hospital for evaluation, police said.

Stewart Avenue between Levittown Parkway and Route 106 reopened shortly after 5 p.m. after being off limits in both directions while a hostage negotiator and emergency services officers tried to defuse the situation, police said.

The Dutch Lane School, which is on Stewart Avenue, and Holy Trinity High School, further north on Route 106, kept students inside for hours, school officials said.

At the Dutch Lane School, elementary students had to stay in class inside at the 3 p.m. dismissal time, but shortly after 4:45 p.m., Superintendent Carl Bonuso said children were to be released soon on the west side of the school, away from the police scene.

Students at Holy Trinity High School, which is between Route 106 and Cherry Lane, left at the 2:30 p.m. dismissal time before the incident started, said assistant principal Patrick McKevitt.

But shortly afterward, the police notified administrators about the investigation and about 300 students who stayed behind for after-school activities and sports were hustled back into the building, he said.

Eventually, after police gave the go-ahead, buses and parents began picking up students on the Cherry Lane side, McKevitt said.