Yorktown Police Step Up Presence at Schools

A Yorktown police officer will be posted at all elementary schools within the Lakeland and Yorktown school districts at arrival and dismissal times for the next several days as a safety precaution, police said. 

The move is a reaction to Friday's shootings at an elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults.

Yorktown police has a school resource officer at Lakeland High School and Yorktown High School, as well as the middle schools.  

"We will also have one officer assigned to each school district to randomly stop in  at each elementary school throughout the day," Yorktown Lt. Robert Noble told Patch. "Sector patrols will also make frequent checks of all elementary schools throughout the school day."

Police also added extra security on Friday in reaction to the tragic shootings in nearby Newtown, CT.

In a letter sent to parents, Yorktown Central School District Superintendent Ralph Napolitano said flags at Yorktown schools will fly at half-mast on Monday. Students and staff will pause for a moment of silence.

"We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our schools are the safe havens we intend them to be," Napolitano wrote. "We will remain steadfast in continuing our very important work: the physical and emotional well-being of the children, their character, social and moral development, their ability to do and say the right things as contributing members of their community and of course subject knowledge, skills, and understanding. A civil and safe world is counting on its parents and educators."

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