Parents of Hillside Elementary School students and homeowners in the surrounding Hastings neighborhood say they are on heightened alert after hunters were reportedly spotted in the wooded park that surrounds the school.

Officials say two weeks ago, a man with a bow and arrow was seen entering the woods one day.  The next day, loud noises believed to be gunshots were heard coming from the woods while school was in session.

Students at Hillside were kept inside for two days as a safety precaution and police beefed up patrols. No hunters were found in the park.

The park is owned and operated by the village, where regulations bans hunting. Officials are considering upgrading the regulations and making it a law for greater deterrence.

“We are looking at the choices around passing a law that will put sanctions on hunters. More expensive. Rather than escorting people out of the woods, we'll be able to slap a fine in them,” says Hastings Mayor Peter Swiderski.