Bellmore-Merrick schools locked out after report of man with rifle

Bellmore-Merrick area schools were locked out Thursday morning after officials received an unconfirmed report that a man was spotted carrying a rifle on Sunrise Highway, near the Merrick train station.

At around noon, Nassau County police deemed the area safe. “The incident is over,” a police spokesman said. “There was no man ever found.”

Schools then returned to their normal routines. In a lockout, no one is allowed to enter or leave a school building. Police were stationed near schools throughout the morning.

In an apparently unrelated incident, one round was fired at a vehicle that was parked on William Street in North Merrick at around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9, shattering two windows and damaging the passenger seat. Police are investigating. At press time on Thursday afternoon, no suspect had been identified, and the police spokesman said he did not have information about what type of round was fired.