On June 12 two fifth-grade boys from Woodward Parkway School said that a group of teenage males approached them in a threatening manner as they were walking home from school.

The boys and their families names are not mentioned due to their age and security reasons.

According to one of the boys' mothers, "a large group of black teens" approached her son and his friend, wielding a "handgun and pulling back its slide." They also allegedly directed profanities toward her son's friend. The boys ran to the friend's mother, who was walking about three blocks ahead of them.

"I was heading home from the school and pulled over to see what was going on, they told me their story and I called 911," the boy's mother said. "Then, I called my husband, a Suffolk County Police officer, who went out to go look for the group who had headed toward the [Farmingdale] high school. We kept in contact via cell phone. He found them near the high school pool and said he actually saw the gun in the hand of one of the teens. Then he saw them enter the high school pool area.

Initially, only one police car arrived at the scene," she explained. "The second car came much later. They only searched the two subjects that my husband actually saw with the gun, which neither no longer had."

Eighth Precinct Deputy Inspector Michael Cronin further explained that the "two kids that he [the victim's father] thought may have been passing a gun back and forth were patted down for a gun and they did not have a weapon. What was being passed around when my officer arrived was a water gun. As per the law, there cannot be a full search. It is a pat down search for the officer's safety and that's what occurred."

According to Farmingdale High School Principal Allen Bauer, the teens were questioned and released by the officer. He said two teens, who were not Farmingdale High School students, then left the premises. The others boarded a late bus.

"The kids that got on the bus were all Farmingdale High School kids," Bauer said. "The dean knew them. I asked the bus driver to come see me to make sure that all of those kids on the bus were Farmingdale High School students and she said they were and that she would not let kids on the bus that were not Farmingdale High School students. She knows them all because she did the late bus everyday."

The victim's mother and father immediately reported the incident to Woodward Parkway Elementary School, Farmingdale High School Principal Allen Bauer and then Superintendent Dr. Roberta Gerold.

"We spoke about my concerns regarding security at the high school, the bus pass/identification policy, and the relationship with the police and our school system," she explained. "All of these conversations were productive."

A few days later Woodward Parkway School Principal Carol Anselmo sent home a notification letter to parents and guardians. In addition to releasing brief details about the incident the letter stated to "please review with your children what they should do when strangers approach. These two young boys have set an example of the appropriate action to take when approached by a stranger."

The victim's mother also sent out a mass email, notifying parents and other residents and attended a Concerned Citizens Association of Farmingdale meeting.

"The victims of these roaming groups of teenage predators are innocent Farmingdale residents being preyed upon at random," the CCAF Executive Board wrote in a letter to the editor in the Farmingdale Observer. "Whether or not these groups have any connection to each other has yet to be determined, as is their residential origin. Since these groups have been successful, there is no reason to believe that they are going to abruptly discontinue the harassment of our children. Worse yet, there is no guarantee that these groups will stop at intimidation."

According to the victim's mother, several key topics regarding policies at the high school were covered at that meeting regarding the incident:

• The identification tag system at the high school.

• Security cameras at the pool entrance of the high school.

• Security guards shifts.

• Availability of school staff after school day ends.

• Enforcement of No Trespassing law on school grounds.

Even though the high school's last bell rings at 2:04 p.m. there are students participating in athletics, extra help and other activities. Late buses are available to students at 3:45 p.m. One of the school's three deans is present to meet late buses. The dean and one security guard also remain at the high school until 5:30 p.m. on each school day. According to Bauer, during the school day there are seven security guards, including one in a truck, three deans and three monitors. The monitors sit at each of the posts at the school's three main entrances. Visitors are required to check in at any of these entrances. Staff and children are required to have identification badges on their person and are required to present them as needed. All entrances to the school are closed at 3:30 p.m. except for the pool area, which leads out to the bus lot.

"Our security people and our deans know their kids," Bauer said. "If they see people who don't belong, they will immediately take action with that."

With 2,000 students to tend to throughout a school day Bauer said he isn't naive in thinking kids sneaking into the building isn't a possibility.

"Usually it's a former student who comes to see current students," he explained. "What we do with trespassers, depending on who they are and what they've done, we have them arrested."

Bauer said he understands the concern of the community and said he will convene the school's safety committee in the beginning of the school year as opposed to October when they usually meet "to see what we can possibly do to improve the situation and we're going to be vigilant." He also said he was going to make the summer school principal aware of the situation as well. In addition to the principal and staff there are three security guards responsible for 150 summer school students.

A week before his 13th birthday last July, a Howitt Middle School student received a brand new bicycle from his parents as a gift. A few days later it was stolen by a group of teenagers while he was riding it to Allen Park. According to the boy's mother, the boy was riding along on Sunset Avenue and used Cedar Place as a cut through to get to Spielman Avenue when he was approached by five or six boys.

According to the boy's mother, "one kid punched him in the face and knocked him off his bike," the boy's mother explained. "They started circling around him. They told him to empty out his pockets. When he took his cell phone out, they took the battery out and smashed it on the ground. They took his backpack and the bike."

When the Farmingdale Observer contacted the 8th Squad detective assigned to the case, the detective would not comment other than to say that the incident remains an ongoing investigation. No arrests were made in this case.

The 8th Squad then reported details of a reckless endangerment incident that occurred at Farmingdale High School Friday, Oct. 28, 2005.

According to police, at approximately 7:45 p.m., just after a pep rally at Farmingdale High School, a security guard on his routine patrol observed a verbal altercation between some students and a group of unidentified male subjects. Police state that as the guard drove toward the group of male subjects, they entered three vehicles and drove off the school property. The guard then followed in his vehicle in an attempt to obtain license plate numbers. The three vehicles stopped at the intersection of Lincoln Street and Intervale Avenue where all the subjects in the three vehicles exited and ran toward the security guard's car, according to police. The security guard reported hearing what he believed sounded like gunshots and drove back to the school where he called the police. Upon closer inspection police state that one bullet did strike the radiator of the security car.

Then Farmingdale Schools Superintendent Dr. Roberta Gerold said the school didn't believe these individuals were from Farmingdale.

Most recently, however, a 14-year-old boy who had just bought himself a new bicycle with his confirmation money also had it stolen by a group of male teens. According to the boy's father, his son and a friend were riding their bikes at 8:30 p.m. on June 18 when a group of four teens, including three from Amityville, surrounded the two and during a verbal confrontation demanded they empty their pockets.

"They refused and one of the kids rammed my son's friend and he fell down," the father said.

They took his son's bike, left one of their own and pedaled off onto Laurelton Street. A nearby neighbor saw the altercation and immediately called police, who, according to the boy's father, arrived in four to five minutes. As the police were taking statements, the group rode past the house and were stopped by police. According to the boy's father and confirmed by Cronin, one was charged with robbery as an adult and the others were charged with robbery as youths. One was let go because he attempted to get the bike back for the boys.

The victim's mother said she is now "advocating for a spare [police] car to be put in our area to pick up the surplus of calls that our sector cars may not be able to handle promptly."

While Cronin said 8th Precinct takes all of these incidents seriously, the thing that drives police resources is the crime numbers and that area's numbers do not support more police cars.

"Everybody would like to have a cop of their block and that's just not reality," he added. "There is one car assigned to the incorporated village and there is a car that is north and south of the village."

In the meantime, the victim's mother said her son, who, along with the other boy will start at Howitt Middle School in the fall, is doing well and is comforted by the fact that so many people are interested in having their voices heard to help make this community a safer place.

"I don't think he feels secure enough to walk alone any time soon, but that will come in time. My son and his friend did the right thing and acted appropriately. I can't help but imagine what would have happened if they hadn't."

Farmingdale Village Mayor George Graf said that residents should show "zero tolerance" in instances such as these and report everything to police.

"If something happens, it is unacceptable to just roll it under the carpet," he added. "Besides working with the police it is up to the residents to say, we're not going to stand for things like this."

"This all needs to be looked into," said CCAF President Mike Grello. "We need to make sure that this was handled properly and we need to put precautions if indeed it was handled the improper way."

CCAF also recommends that residents call 911 operators immediately and the police department "will prioritize the calls."

Cronin assured that as far as crime statistics go, "Farmingdale is a very safe community" and these incidents occur in every community. Additionally he asked his squad of police officers to be "more visible and vigilant" in the area and offered the following advice if someone should find themselves in a similar situation.

"If they can get away, get away and make as much noise and they can," Cronin advised. "If they cannot get away, give them whatever they want and be good witnesses. Try to get as much of a description as they possibly can regarding the kids. Anything that is clearly going to identify these kids. Get to an adult as quickly as possible to call the police."