Seaford schools restrict access as cops hunt suspect

Five Seaford schools restricted access to their buildings Friday as Nassau County police searched for a suspect in an attempted larceny of a gas station on Sunrise Highway, school officials said.

Superintendent Brian Conboy of the Seaford school district said each of his four schools restricted entrance to their buildings for about 10 minutes Friday, starting at about 2 p.m., based on orders from Nassau County police.

Conboy referred to the situation as a "lockout," meaning that no one from outside was allowed to enter the buildings.

A spokeswoman for St. William The Abbot School on Jackson Avenue said the school also restricted entrance to outsiders for about an hour, starting at about 1 p.m.

A police spokeswoman said officers were responding to an attempted larceny at a Citgo gas station on Sunrise Highway and advised the schools to institute the safety procedures.

The spokeswoman said the schools were told they could resume normal operating procedures before 2:30 p.m., but she could not say if the suspect had been caught by police.

The spokeswoman had no further information.