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Southampton Town Hall was locked down after a caller threatened to shoot up the place this week.
Tense moments in Southampton Town Hall led to a lockdown, response by both Southampton Town Police and Village Police, and finally, sighs of relief on Wednesday, December 1, following a phone call laced with threats.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., Village Police received a call from the town clerk’s office.
A person had called the office looking to obtain a copy of a marriage license and became enraged by the procedure necessary to procure one. The caller threatened “to shoot the place up,” according to Village Police Detective Sergeant Herman Lamison.
With additional officers from Town Police helping out, Town Hall was locked down as detectives began the investigation.
They learned the call hailed from Maryland. Once they got in touch with law enforcement counterparts there, detectives were able to confirm the caller was in Maryland. “That put everyone at somewhat of a rest,” Lamison said, adding that the caller looking for the document had given his name, and as far as the investigation goes, “that was a silver lining.”
But according to Town Clerk Sundy Schermeyer, the time between the call and the discovery of the caller’s true location was “unnerving and very scary” for her staff. They didn’t know where the caller was and feared he was on his way to Town Hall.
Schermeyer emphasized that she and her staff are “the gatekeepers” when it comes to a variety of important documents. Identity fraud is rampant, she pointed out. “There’s a process to protect vital records,” she said, explaining they can’t be released without the recipient meeting certain identification and safety requirements. Staff in her office were just doing their jobs, Schermeyer underscored, adding, “It’s unacceptable for somebody to threaten to shoot people because they feel the process is onerous.”
Praising the rapid police response, she said, “We’re so grateful we have police departments who are ready and able to come when we need them.”
In all, Lamison reported, 10 officers deployed to Town Hall — six from the Village Police department and four from the Town Police department.
Town Police Chief Steven Skrynecki felt the incident resulted in an excellent joint response. “It afforded an opportunity for us to use protocols we put into place for responding to incidents with our village partners,” he said. “We talk about how we would manage things like this all the time, and drill. To have a live operation does make for a very good exercise and, fortunately, it worked out very well.”
According to Lamison, the investigation is still active and an arrest may be in the offing.
