A group of about 50 school-aged children charged into the Bellport Village CVS, located on South Country Road, removing items from shelves.
According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the group of juveniles caused the disturbance on Tuesday, July 2 at 2:30 p.m. The suspects fled before police arrived.
Also, rumors of possible urination throughout the store were dismissed as false.
Though she did not witness the incident herself, mayor of Bellport Village, Maureen Veitch, said the Fifth Precinct has been working very closely with the village and has promised more officers and units in the area.
“We are very grateful for the SCPD,” she said of their combined efforts.
However, she said she also contacted CVS and has already received a response from them, which said CVS security would be working with the SCPD as well.
Representatives from the CVS were not permitted to speak about the incident; however, CVS corporate released a statement:
“The safety of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we have security measures in place to deter or prevent theft and to keep our stores safe places to work, shop and fill prescriptions,” wrote Amy Thibault, lead director of external communications. “We’re working with community leaders and law enforcement to help ensure customers and employees continue to feel secure when visiting our Bellport store.”
Despite school currently not being in session due to summer and though no connection of those students to the nearby middle school has been made, the South Country School District does have several character education programs in place.
Additionally, the superintendent of schools, Antonio Santana, said none of these behaviors are consistent with what they expect from students in and out of school.
However, the incident, though unwelcome, was not entirely unexpected, according to local Brookhaven Hamlet resident Amelia Chiaramonte, who said the CVS parking lot has been the site of teenage activity for the past several years.
In years past, she said, there have been skateboarders on the curbs and entrances disregarding patrons, and bicycles doing wheelies from the parking lot entering South Country and Station Roads.
This June, she said, she was forced to stay in her car when she saw a fight break out between teens in the CVS doorway while customers tried to navigate.
“It’s time for Bellport Village and CVS to come up with a solution to this yearly harassment by these ever-evolving groups of neighborhood junior hooligans,” she said.
