Maine State Police and other law enforcement officers responded Tuesday morning to the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School for a reported “swatting” call. There was no actual threat at the school, according to police. A.M. Sheehan/Advertiser Democrat
PARIS — The Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School was one among a number of Maine schools that were victims of “swatting” calls Tuesday morning, according to school officials and Maine State Police.
At 10:05 a.m. the district was notified of an online threat related to Oxford Hills school and the building was placed in an immediate lockdown. According to Superintendent Heather Manchester, the threat turned out to be an incident of “swatting,” which is when someone makes a false report of a threat to get police to respond to a specific location.
The swatting calls at multiple schools across the state all came from the same IP address, Manchester said, an address that has been used to make similar threatening calls from a foreign country. In each phone threat, the caller used the same narrative.
After the threat was received at Oxford Hills, police were stationed at every door at the high school and all vehicle entrances were locked as fire and rescue responders were asked to stage behind the Department of Health and Human Services building on nearby Alpine Street.
Shannon Moss, the public information officer for the Maine Department of Public Safety, confirmed the swatting incidents coming in from various lines across Maine, and State Police are now working with other law enforcement agencies across the state to confirm each was a “swatting” threat.
According to Moss, “There is presently no known threat to the students, staff or public at this time. The Department of Public Safety encourages law enforcement and school leadership to continue to use due diligence when reviewing any new potential threats.”
In Lewiston, after a threat was received at the high school, police surrounded that building and other city schools as a precaution, according to Superintendent Jake Langlais.
“We are aware of six separate communities that have received a message at this time,” he said.
Calls have been confirmed in Oxford Hills, Lewiston, South Portland, Portland, Scarborough, Bangor, Gorham and North Berwick.
Once it was clear there was no actual threat, Lewiston schools remained open Tuesday and staff and police will continue to be vigilant through the school day, Langlais said.
Nearly an hour after the threat was received at the Oxford Hills school, the City of South Portland reported on its social media that the high school and community center were on lockdown because of an incident at South Portland High School.
“Currently there is no indication of an actual threat. However, police are recently on the scene and this is an ACTIVE investigation,” the city wrote. “All South Portland Schools are in secure mode as a precaution with no one allowed in or out as the investigation is taking place.”
The city asked community members to avoid the area.
The superintendent of MSAD 60 in York County said the Veterans Crisis Line received a call about a potential active shooter outside Noble High School in North Berwick.
“At this time all of the information points to this being a hoax as these calls have been noted across the country throughout the morning,” Audra Beauvais wrote in a letter to the community shared on Facebook. “Currently all students and staff are safe in lockdown.”
She asked that people refrain from coming to campus.
“The Bangor Police Department has responded to a ‘Swatting’ call at a local school,” the department posted on X at 10:30 a.m. “There is no emergency and all students and faculty are safe. We will have an official release after more information is gathered.”
Portland High School, located adjacent to city hall in downtown Portland, also went on lockdown following threatening calls.
“Portland High School is in a lockdown and Portland Police are on the scene out of an abundance of caution,” the district wrote in an 11:25 a.m. announcement. “PHS received a threatening phone call this morning that follows a pattern of swatting calls today to schools across the state.”
In Gorham, where students were not in school buildings for Election Day, teachers were locked down across the district after receiving the same threat.
The South Portland Community Center, the polling place for about 9,000 city residents, was locked down by police for about 15 minutes Tuesday morning after the threat was made against South Portland High School, which is across the street.
South Portland Police said on Facebook they were responding to the threat, which “appears to be a hoax.” The school was locked down and all students and employees were safe, police said. Police asked that residents be “patient” as they investigate the threat.
While police were at the high school searching cars and buildings, no officers were seen at the community center, although nearby Highland Avenue was briefly closed.
Mayor Misha Pride, who was greeting voters at the community center, said there was “some frustration” from people who could not leave and had places to be, but people were generally calm.
By about 11:20 a.m., students were texting their parents to say they expected to be released any minute. The community center was back open for voting. The lines had dwindled to dozens, slowing for the first time all morning.
This story will be updated.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
