Lockout in East Hampton Schools Is Over

Update, 3:45 p.m.: The man whom East Hampton Village police were looking for was located at Havens Beach in Sag Harbor, and the lockout has ended, according to Chief Gerard Larsen.

The man, whose name wasn't released because he wasn't charged with a crime, was found without a weapon. Sag Harbor Village police transported him to Stony Brook University Hospital for observation. 

Update, 2:28 p.m.: As dismissal time nears for students in the East Hampton School District, the administration is configuring a plan for students to leave the building, despite the current lockout, if the police investigation does not resolve itself shorly. After-school activities and sports games have been canceled, but Project MOST is still on for this afternoon.

In an email to parents, Charles Soriano, the middle school principal, said students taking the bus or being picked up by parents would be let go at 2:40 p.m. Students won't be allowed to walk home alone, though. "Students who walk home will be asked to gather in the auditorium," he said. "We do not want kids walking around town."

Update, 2:14 p.m.: The Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter will be closed for the rest of the day, according to an email that was sent out to patrons on Wednesday at about 2 p.m.

Originally, 1:16 p.m.: Students and staff in the East Hampton School District are in lockout mode Wednesday afternoon due to a police investigation in the area. 

Village Police Chief Gerard Larsen said Wednesday afternoon that the schools were not targeted, but that they were put on lockout as a precaution. His department is searching for a suicidal subject, armed with a knife. They have reason to believe he may go to the Y.M.C.A. East Hampton RECenter, located on Gingerbead Lane near the John M. Marshall Elementary School. "So for precaution we put the RECenter and the schools on lockout," he said. 

Lockout means the doors are locked and no one can come and go from the building. Classes continue as usual, though students are kept off the playground. It was unclear if the lockout would impact dismissal Wednesday afternoon.

The school district declined to comment. Elementary school parents received a call from the district shortly after 1. Emails were also sent out. 

Patrons at the Y.M.C.A. were being turned away Wednesday afternoon. Glenn Vickers, the executive director, said he couldn't comment. 

With Reporting by Christine Sampson