Police were out in force at Sanford High School, Portland High School and Gardiner Area High School on Tuesday as several schools in Maine responded to reports of active school shootings. Maine State Police have confirmed that multiple active shooter threats have been reported at schools across the state. Those reports are believed to be hoaxes, spokeswoman Shannon Moss said. The Sanford School Department sent a message to parents Tuesday morning saying the threat of an active shooter was not believed to be credible. The dispatch center received a call at 8:20 am. about an active shooter situation at Sanford High School and the Sanford Regional Technical Center. The caller reported there was an active shooter dressed in a black coat and black pants with a long rifle on the first floor of the high school, according to city officials. The Sanford Strategic Response Team was dispatched to the high school. No injuries have been reported and none are expected, the city said in a statement. According to city officials, there were no calls from students or teachers inside the building reporting injuries or shots fired. The call reporting the active shooter came from an untraceable VOIP phone number, Sanford officials said. Students were still being evacuated from the building at 10am. They are bused to Memorial Gym in Sanford to be reunited with their parents. Sanford officials are expected to provide additional updates to the media later Tuesday. In a Facebook group for city residents, parents posted that they were hearing from their children that the school was on lockdown. Dispatchers and officers communicating via scanner were calling for support from other communities and arranging for buses to come to the school stadium. They said they cleaned the hallways and one classroom at a time. The scene outside Portland High School, one of several schools to receive active shooter threats. Police say all threats are believed to be hoaxes. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer Police also went to Portland High School Tuesday morning after a 911 call reported an active shooter there. Staff reported that no shots were fired. The school was on lockdown while police cleared the building. Police are on scene at Portland High School after a 911 call reporting an active shooter. PHS staff reports that no shots were fired. The school is closed while police clear the building. — Portland (ME) Police (@PolicePortland) November 15, 2022 Portland police said a call reporting a shooter came in at 8:31 a.m. in an administrative line. The first officers on the scene found no signs of trouble and more than 20 officers were conducting a precautionary search, police said in a tweet. In Augusta, Gardiner Area High School was on lockdown this morning, according to district school board president Becky Fles, who acknowledged the high school was one of the schools statewide to receive the threat. “We are working with multiple law enforcement agencies following the security protocols that are in place,” he told the Kennebec Journal Tuesday morning. According to one student on the Gardiner Area’s unofficial Facebook page, she and her classmates at Gardiner Area Middle School are “closing the door” and “have no idea what’s going on.” Student, Elise Clockedile, said there was “a lot of police presence”. Gardiner police could not immediately be reached Tuesday morning. Officials with the Augusta Police Department said they were not aware of any threats to the school. The Maine Intelligence Center is heavily involved in coordinating the investigations, Moss said. This story will be updated. Kennebec Magazine staff writer Emily Duggan contributed to this report. Related stories
