Residents of Springs were jarred on Monday evening as a Suffolk County police helicopter and Southampton Village K-9 unit aided in a search for a man who had fled his house on Neck Path on a bicycle after brandishing what appeared to be a gun.
With rumors running rampant about what sparked the search, it was not until midday Tuesday that details about the incident were made public.
Police were called to a house on Neck Path at 6:44 p.m. Monday. A 34-year-old man was “in emotional crisis,” according to Capt. Chris Anderson of the East Hampton Town Police Department. Because of this, The Star has decided not to publish the man’s name at this time. When police arrived at his house, he was already gone. He was located near the Springs General Store, but he fled again, this time on foot. That was when the helicopter and canine unit were called in to help. The search concluded with the man’s arrest at 9:20 p.m.
“He was ultimately located southeast of School Street, hiding in a heavily wooded area,” Captain Anderson said. “Once he was located, he was put into custody without incident.” He was charged with fourth-degree weapons possession and second-degree menacing, both misdemeanors.
Captain Anderson described the “weapon” the man brandished as an “imitation pistol.”
“If there was an immediate threat to the community, we would have taken the appropriate steps” to protect public safety, Captain Anderson said.
As the search was underway Monday night, the police looped in Debra Winter, the Springs School District superintendent, who initiated a lockout at 7:25 p.m. In a message to Springs parents early Tuesday, Ms. Winter wrote only generally of what had happened, describing it as “an incident unfolding in the Springs community” the night before.
“Due to the time of the incident, there were no students in the building and limited staff were present,” she said in a message to Springs School parents on Tuesday morning. At 10:15 p.m., she was “given an all clear that the incident was resolved and assured that school was safe to open on Tuesday morning.”
On social media, some parents later said that they had been on the school grounds that evening for Little League practice as the police drove through the parking lot.
This comes less than two weeks after Springs School and three others on the South Fork were put on high alert following receipt of anonymous bomb threats, all of which were deemed noncredible. Springs, Amagansett, Wainscott, and Sag Harbor were among 50 school districts in the state targeted by the false threats, according to New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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Note: This article has been updated since it originally appeared online.
