Suffolk Student Detained After Displaying Unloaded Firearm

Suffolk+County+Police+responding+to+the+incident%2C+outside+the+Islip+Arts+Building+on+Wednesday+Oct.+26%2C+2022.

Suffolk County Police responding to the incident, outside the Islip Arts Building on Wednesday Oct. 26, 2022.

Layne Groom, Managing Editor

 A Suffolk student displayed an unloaded firearm after falling in the Ammerman cafeteria Wednesday afternoon and was detained by campus public safety and Suffolk County Police.

The incident occurred at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday and was resolved within minutes. The incident was witnessed by students and a faculty member present in the cafeteria. After attempting to leave the cafeteria the suspect was quickly detained by SCCC Public Safety, and then shortly after was given over to the custody of Suffolk County Police. 

“Public Safety acted fast and professionally,” said Frank Vino, a counselor from the Office of Student Activities who witnessed Public Safety’s response to the incident, “They created a real strong perimeter, I knew everyone around us would be OK once I saw their quick response.”

Students and faculty acted quickly as well, immediately contacting public safety and called 911 following the initial incident. 

“One of the things to note about today’s incident, while it is unfortunate, is that it speaks to the readiness of our public safety officers and the readiness of our students” said Dr. Patty Munsch, Vice President for Student Affairs, who works with the Public Safety Office, “Students knew that something was wrong, they didn’t know what was wrong, but they knew they needed to tell someone immediately.”