Just days after last week’s deadly shooting on an Oregon college campus sparked horror and grief nationwide, students and parents in the Mattituck school district were sent home today after reports of gunshots.
According to Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District Superintendent Anne Smith, a girls varsity soccer game was near the end of the first half at about 5:30 p.m. when “what sounded like shots” prompted an investigation by Southold Town police.
“We brought brought athletes and spectators indoors for about a half an hour or so,” Smith said. “Everyone was calm and followed requests to come inside. We decided to close the campus for the evening, as well.”
Southold Town Police Chief Martin Flatley said police received “reports of gunshots in the neighborhood adjacent to the high school late this afternoon. Officers directed any students out on the athletic fields into the school until the report of gunshots could be verified.”
Next, officers conducted a door-to-door check of the neighborhood and deemed it safe for students to be released to go home, Flatley said. “We are continuing our investigation into this report,” he said.
Everyone was allowed to leave by about 6:30 p.m., Smith said. “The game did not resume. ”
Southold Town Police are investigating the incident, Smith said. “They work closely with the school on our safety plans, procedures and responses.”
The incident was not the first time gunshots sparked terror in the district: In 2009, almost six years to the day, on October 8, a student was shot in the head while sitting in a classroom; the bullet grazed him.
