This story has been updated.
A 13-year-old male student in Woodland was arrested last week after threatening to shoot students and staff, police said.
The student made the verbal threats on April 12 at Woodland Consolidated School and school officials alerted the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Shawn Gillen said Friday.
Deputies went to the school that day and spoke to staff and students, Gillen said.
The sheriff’s office did not announce the news until it sent a release Friday morning when the Bangor Daily News inquired after receiving a tip.
Woodland Consolidated Principal Gillian Sleeper said Friday that the school went into an immediate soft lockdown for 20 minutes after the threat was reported. Classes remained in session but members of the public were not allowed inside.
The student and his belongings were immediately removed from the classroom, Sleeper said. No weapons were found.
“There was no immediate danger to anyone at the time of the threat,” Sleeper said.
Sleeper sent a letter to families that day to inform them of the incident and law enforcement response.
Deputies remained at the school the rest of last week. The school has since been on spring break, but deputies will be present again on Monday, Superintendent Karla Michaud said.
Deputies spoke with students and staff about the lockdown and helped reassure everyone that they were safe, Michaud said. The school’s counselor is also available to speak with students and staff.
The student’s name is not being released because he is a minor, Gillen said. Deputies charged the student with terrorizing.
The sheriff did not say whether the student has been released on bail.
It’s not the first time a minor has been charged with threatening a school attack.
Police arrested a 13-year-old who made threats to Bangor schools in 2019 using a fake social media account. Several schools in Penobscot and Hancock counties took precautions as a result.
Last month a 10-year-old was arrested in Monroe after he entered school grounds with a firearm, the Associated Press reported.
Terrorizing is a Class C or Class D crime under Maine law. Class C crimes are punishable by up to five years incarceration and a $5,000 fine, while Class D crimes can result in 364 days in prison and a $2,000 fine, according to the Maine attorney general’s office.
