Officials: Search for suspect prompts lockout at 5 schools in Northport-East Northport School District

Five schools in the Northport-East Northport School District were placed on lockout for about 2 1/2 hours Wednesday as police searched a local neighborhood for what proved to be a petit larceny suspect, officials said.

The district said the lockout that affected Pulaski Road, Dickinson Avenue and Bellerose Avenue elementary schools, East Northport Middle School and Northport High School was instituted "out of an abundance of caution" and in conjunction with protocols recommended by the Suffolk County police.

Police said the incident involved a petty theft from a public area at a local industrial site — and said no weapons were involved and students were never in danger.

A 911 call reporting the petit larceny was received at 10:11 a.m. Police said the exact site of the theft was not specified, but said the call location may have been an area not far from the Pulaski Road School on 9th Avenue in East Northport.

There have been no arrests in the case and police could not immediately detail what type of item was reported taken.

An email to parents from the district director of security, Len Devlin, said that in accordance with emergency management protocols — and, in cooperation with police — the schools were placed on lockout and said all student activities had been moved indoors as a result and that campuses were closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

A message from district superintendent Robert Banzer at about 1 p.m. said the district had lifted the lockout at all impacted schools and said all students were safe. In his statement, Banzer said the lockout had been due to "alleged criminal activity" in an area "west of Larkfield Rd. and north of Pulaski Rd.," but did not provide any details of what specifics the district had been provided of the incident.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”