Nassau officials: Help us protect kids from mass shooter

Nassau County leaders Wednesday night did their best to assure restive schools administrators they are more than ready to thwart a campus mass shooting before it happens and stop one quickly if it does.

Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that the department has created an active assailant-critical incident response.

It's a partnership, Ryder said — a seven-part strategy to protect students from campus attacks he presented Wednesday night to school district leaders — his partners — as the school year opens with memories of the Uvalde, Texas, grade school shooting in May on their minds.

Ryder made it clear it takes more than just a police plan to secure students, teachers and faculty.

“I need the schools to be engaged,” he told the audience of more than 50 in attendance Wednesday night in Garden City for "2022 PREPARE School Program Seminar."

Community engagement with Nassau police and county government was the overall theme for the event at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence — part of a strategy to get the word out about the county's ongoing effort to harden schools from mass shootings.

“What we’re looking to do is keep you safe," Ryder said.

The seven-part strategy — Partnership, Recognition, Education, Prevention/Preparation, Activation, Response and Execute the plan, or PREPARE — was on the minds of school officials in attendance. Some said the strategy and partnership served as a reminder that law enforcement has planned ahead.

Long Island's public school students started returning to campuses Monday and they will continue through Sept. 8.

Dominic Palma, Merrick school district superintendent, said while there’s no guarantee a “tragic situation can't happen” it’s “comforting to know that our police department is prepared to get in there fast and try to resolve it as safely as possible.”

The event also comes as memories remain fresh of the May 24 mass shooting in Uvalde, in which 19 children and two adults were shot to death in one of the deadliest school shootings in the nation’s history. Nearly 400 law enforcement officers descended on the school but waited more than an hour to go into the classroom where the gunman was shooting students and teachers — even though some students were pleading on cellphones to police to come help them.

In response, government and law enforcement officials on Long Island have focused on shoring up gaps in security at school districts, improving communications between districts and police, making sure officers never hesitate in a critical moment and instead, immediately confront an attacker, and urging continued community involvement.

Last week, Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney K. Harrison and County Executive Steve Bellone both pledged that a similar shooting and lagging response "would not happen" in the county.

Bellone said Suffolk is ramping up programs that will enable law enforcement to react quickly and effectively to the nightmare scenario of a shooter in a school.

That includes increased active-shooter drills and a system allowing law enforcement quick access to a school’s cameras to assist if an attack happens.

One program, called RAVE, and active in both counties, is a free, panic-button app allowing school districts to alert law enforcement of an emergency.

Both Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Ryder agreed: In the event of a Uvalde-style shooting, Nassau County's law enforcement plans in place will lead to a rapid response.

Wednesday night, Palma, who is also the president of the Nassau County Council of School Superintendents, said the emphasis is on districts training their staff in safety procedures along with mental health and wellness.

Blakeman said an active-shooter situation is what keeps him up at night. He told attendees to be on the lookout on campus for possible threats.

"We can’t do this alone," Blakeman said. "We need your help."

Tahira DuPree Chase, superintendent for the Westbury school district, said “situational awareness training” is one thing she wants in her district so that educators are prepared for any situation that can happen.

“Safety is the most important priority of a school district,” she said, adding that partnership with police is needed to “add another layer of comfort, knowing that we’re going to be support whenever needed.”