Hempstead school officials call for increased patrols following 2 shootings near schools

Hempstead town school officials are calling for more public safety measures following two shootings near school buildings in the past few days.
News 12 has learned a bullet shattered a classroom window at Rhodes Academy over the weekend.
A staff member discovered the bullet inside the classroom along with a shell casing.
The Hempstead school board says it wants increased patrols around school properties, as this is the second time gun violence has occurred near the elementary school in the last few weeks.
Those bigger police presence comes on the heels of not only the shooting that happened in this neighborhood near Rhodes Academy, but also the increase in shootings across the county.
News 12 spoke with the Hempstead Mayor Wayln Hobbs, who explained that Hempstead police were already investigating the early morning shooting when the discovery inside the classroom was made.
He added that crime is down in the community but said one shooting is one too many.
"We are concerned with the safety of our students. Anytime there is an incident, we step up patrols and any individual who is reckless or careless like that will be investigated and make sure we have enough charges that they will be away for a long time," says Hobbs.
The school board said they want other local law enforcement entities like Nassau police to join patrols.
"In the past - the county executive has sent over the county police department, in the past we had the state troopers, we are asking for that to happen again before we respond to an incident of a child or a staff member hurt," says Hempstead School Board President Randy Stith
The mayor said that will not happen and is not needed, saying the growing Hempstead police force is capable of handling more monitoring.
"We have more than enough men and women of the police department to address the safety of the entire village, including the school district," Hobbs says.