Locust Valley School District officials abruptly ended a school board meeting after they said they had received back-to-back voicemails praising the shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk and threatening violence against people in the room. Nassau County police, however, said their investigation found no threats in the calls and that the man who placed the messages was the victim of a phone‑spoofing harassment campaign.
Board President George Vasiliou announced minutes into Wednesday night’s meeting that the district had received two voicemails "threatening gun violence to all of us here," and that the caller had "praised the terrible actions that happened in Utah" and said he wanted to draw attention to the board. Vasiliou then canceled the meeting; a livestream of the session was later removed.
Nassau County police said officers were dispatched to Locust Valley High School after the board reported the voicemails. During the ensuing investigation, Nassau police worked with Suffolk County authorities and federal Homeland Security officials because the incoming calls originated from an Islip number, officials said. Law-enforcement sources told investigators that the 72-year-old man who answered at his Islip home had been the target of a spoofing campaign and had drunkenly called back the spoofed number; police said his messages did not contain threats.
"There were no threats that were made on that call," a Nassau County Police Department representative said. According to police, the only reference the man made to the Utah shooting was, "It's a shame what happened to that man," and he did not express admiration for the attacker. The man was not charged.
Homeland Security officials also reviewed the recording and interviewed school officials the following day, law-enforcement sources said, and found none of the specific threats Vasiliou described. A Nassau County police source who listened to the recording said investigators were unsure why the district had characterized the messages as threats.
The Locust Valley School District released a short joint statement from Vasiliou and Superintendent Kristen Turnow saying that "after a collaborative investigation by the Nassau County Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department and Homeland Security — we were advised by our law enforcement partners that there was no immediate threat to the Locust Valley school community." The district did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment.
The incident highlights the challenges that school districts and law enforcement face when anonymous or spoofed communications intersect with heightened political tensions. School boards across the country have increasingly encountered contentious meetings and security concerns in recent years, prompting many districts to coordinate closely with local police when potential threats are reported.
Officials on Long Island said they acted out of caution when the calls were first received and that police response was prompt. Investigators completed their initial inquiries without filing charges in the matter, and school leaders were informed that there was no immediate danger to students or staff.
No further public details have been released about the identity of the person who spoofed the district's number or any subsequent steps in the investigation. Local authorities said they will continue to probe incidents of harassing spoof calls when they have evidence of criminal activity.
