Man Rushes Past Greeter at Murphy Jr. High, Nabbed by School Personnel

A man was apprehended Wednesday by school personnel at Murphy Junior High School after rushing past the entrance greeter.

According to an email sent to parents from school principal Vincent Vizzo, the incident involved a young-man who had fled from a community group home. He approached the entrance of the building and was buzzed in, which is in line with school protocol, and was asked why he was at the school at which point he rushed past the greeter and was “swiftly apprehended by school personnel.” The police, according to the letter, were immediately notified.

According to Suffolk County police, the 23-year-old mentally ill man was taken to the hospital for evlauation.

The letter reads in part:

The young man approached the entrance of our building and following normal protocol, was buzzed into the building where he was received by our greeter. Because he had no student ID and was not recognizable to the greeter, he was asked about his purpose for being at the school. At that point, the young man rushed past the greeter but was swiftly apprehended by school personnel. The police department was immediately notified of this incident and arrived on the scene in a matter of minutes. The young man was turned over to police.

The district is in the process of $1.1 million in security upgrades, including the addition of vestibules at the main entrance to each building except for Ward Melville High School, where visitors will be required to check in with identification. The vestibules will feature two-way intercoms with cameras. Visitors currently are buzzed into Murphy.

The letter was also posted on Murphy's website.

Patch was unable to speak with Mr. Vizzo at the time this story was posted and no other details are currently available. If further information becomes available we will update the story.