Police says active shooter threats reported at multiple Maine schools are hoaxes

The State Department of Public Safety reported that active shooter threats had been reported at multiple schools throughout the state of Maine. These threats are now believed to be hoaxes. The Maine State Police have aided the local law enforcement agencies in their preliminary investigations into these events. At the moment, the calls are believed to be hoaxes.

The Portland Police confirmed the investigation of a call about an active shooter at the Portland High School. The police put the school under lockdown, and investigations revealed that the staff in the school had not alerted the police.

The Sanford School in southern Maine also saw a police presence. The school department announced to the parents that the threat was not credible.




The reports of school shootings resulted in the presence of SWAT teams, and when there are many fake shooting reports, they are referred to as “swattings”. Such swarms of reports have occurred in different parts of the country in recent years. Around 17 Connecticut schools received such threats on a single morning last month.

This incident of hoax calls happened just days after the death of three University of Virginia students and the injury of two others in a shooting aimed at a bus full of students returning from a field trip.

FAQs

Was only one school affected by the hoax?
The active-shooter calls were received by more than one school across Maine.


Who is coordinating the investigations?
The Maine Information Analysis Center (MIAC) is the coordinator of these investigations.