Cops: Stranger who boarded Longwood bus was playing joke on son

A hooded stranger who boarded a Longwood school bus Tuesday with high school students was playing a joke on his son, Suffolk police said.

The father -- carrying a student's backpack and wearing his sweatshirt hoodie over his head -- walked onto the bus as it was picking up students about 6:40 a.m. at a stop in Middle Island, authorities said.

Before the bus left for the next stop, an individual, "who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, asked the driver to allow him to leave the bus," according to a release from the school district.

"This individual identified himself as a parent of one of the students on the bus and immediately disembarked uneventfully," the statement said.

The district disclosed no further details, adding that it urged "parents for their cooperation in remaining vigilant and to continue to report anything out of the ordinary to their child's school administrator."

The driver, a substitute for the day, immediately reported the incident to the bus company as well as the school district, the release said.

Police said the father was playing a prank and was not arrested.

With Gary Dymski