School weapons possessions cases dropped more than 60% on Long Island. Experts credit these 3 factors.

Parents were on edge this week after a Smithtown teenager allegedly brought a handgun to school — but state data shows school weapons possession cases have actually dropped significantly on Long Island in recent years, with experts crediting improved security, more student support and better threat reporting.

Officials at Smithtown High School West said a tip from a student that a 16-year-old male student had posted a photo of a handgun on social media led staff to act. School personnel, who were already investigating an earlier conflict involving the student, searched his backpack Tuesday and found a knife, gun and an ammunition magazine inside, according to a police release. The student was arrested and faces felony weapons charges, to which he entered a general denial at his arraignment.

Following concerns from parents, Superintendent Mark Secaur sought to reassure them in a letter dated Oct. 29: “The student involved was never unaccompanied while on school grounds," he wrote. And amid questions about why a lockdown or lockout was not imposed, he wrote it was not needed because "the situation was identified, controlled, and resolved at that point, there was no active threat to students or staff."

Secaur noted that while the district will continue to evaluate its security procedures, it has invested in upgrades, including “controlled building access, security technology, and armed security personnel stationed outside district buildings.”

Educators and experts say such measures have helped bring down the number of weapons possessions cases in Long Island schools by nearly two-thirds, from 343 in the 2014-15 school year to 129 in 2024-25, according to a Newsday analysis of state Education Department safety data.

Don Flynn, president of Holbrook-based Covert Investigations and Security, said, "Schools that are proactive are using a balanced approach between behavioral threat assessment and technology."

Covert works with the Smithtown district; Flynn declined to comment on the recent allegations.

The Freeport School District saw its weapons possession cases drop from 27 a decade ago to three in the 2024-25 school year.

Superintendent Fia Davis said in a statement that evolving security has helped improve safety.

“Measures include building surveillance cameras, secure front-entry vestibules, the strategic deployment of security personnel, and enhanced communication systems that facilitate coordination with local law enforcement,” Davis said.

She added that “student education and family engagement” are also helping.

“The decline in reported weapons confiscations reflects the success of our overall efforts to develop responsible, civic-minded students,” she said.

Brentwood, the state’s largest suburban district with more than 17,000 students, reported 30 weapons possession cases in 2024-25, compared to 26 a decade prior. Vincent Leone, the district's director of programs and policy, said that figure declined to eight cases in the 2025-26 school year.

Leone credited the drop to the installation of a weapons detection screening called Evolv at its high school and freshman campus and stronger relationships with students and families. He said staff are trained to conduct secondary searches, and in the last 12 months, the number of detections has decreased significantly.

The district also installed vestibules at the elementary schools and has started to build the same entrances at its secondary schools, he said.

“It's a reflection of how deeply we care about and love our kids and love the community and make sure that we're doing every single thing we can to give them the tools and resources they need to be successful and to be safe,” Leone said.

Superintendent Wanda Ortiz said in a statement, "Although we are grateful that the District has not had any major safety incidents, we have enacted these protocols as preventative measures." 

In Hempstead, where the number of incidents dropped to zero in 2024-25 from 18 a decade prior, Superintendent Gary Rush said that in the last several years the middle and high schools have added metal detectors as well as armed school resource officers. Rush also said staffers focus on restorative practices that help students understand their actions and the harm they cause rather than relying on punishment as the only way to modify behavior.

He also credited the “7 Mindsets” curriculum with boosting social and emotional learning.

“It’s a commitment from all staff. We've had training for security and everyone that comes in contact with students, from our nurses to other staff,” Rush said.  

'Security belongs to everybody'

Research has shown that students often observe warning signs before staff do and that flagging concerning behavior is an important safety tool.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. praised the student who tipped off Smithtown school staff.

“The young person that reported it should be extremely commended for their courage to alert the school, which could have been a potential tragedy,” Toulon said.

He stressed the importance for schools to gain students’ trust so they feel comfortable reporting threats or questionable behavior, and that staff need to be trained to respond effectively, as he believes Smithtown did.

"It's very incumbent to encourage the students to have enough confidence in the administration to handle it appropriately,” said Toulon, whose department offers a free security assessment for schools and partners with the Sandy Hook Promise nonprofit to provide safety planning in Suffolk schools.

Flynn said everyone in the school community has a responsibility to stay alert to threats.

"In K to 12, security belongs to everybody, and that's why the students play such a critical role," he said. "No threat should ever be discarded. It's got to be completely vetted with law enforcement partners."