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Staff report | Portsmouth Herald
SANFORD, Maine — Dispatch centers successful 10 communities passim Maine received what authorities are calling “hoax-style” telephone calls Tuesday greeting alerting them, falsely, to progressive shooters wrong section schools, according to Michael Sauschuck, the commissioner of the state’s Department of Public Safety.
Sanford High School was the archetypal hoax victim, with a telephone that came into section dispatch astatine 8:20 a.m.
“Those telephone calls — those archetypal complaints, those threats — were elaborate successful quality and they highlighted expected active-shooter scenarios successful our schools, close present successful the authorities of Maine,” Sauschuck said during a property league astatine the Sanford High School campus.
As of aboriginal Tuesday afternoon, authorities did not person a suspect, but Sauschuck said each 10 calls came from the aforesaid telephone number.
The calls came successful a clump successful confederate Maine, but besides arsenic acold northbound arsenic Bangor, Sauschuck added.
Why determination were reports of victims and students injured connected societal media
Police cruisers, occurrence engines and ambulances rushed to the locked-down precocious schoolhouse with sirens blaring astatine astir 8:20 a.m.
Gagne said the phony caller identified themselves arsenic a teacher, and said they were locked successful the unit room. The caller reported galore mendacious details, stating 5 were injured and determination was an progressive shooter dressed successful achromatic overgarment and achromatic pants with a agelong firearm connected the archetypal level of the precocious school.
Gagne said constabulary judge the caller was impersonating a teacher.
The Sanford Strategic Response Team responded to the precocious schoolhouse and conducted a hunt of the building. The hunt of the schoolhouse — a two-story, 350,000-square-foot installation with aggregate wings of classrooms that opened successful 2018 — lasted astir an hour, with archetypal responders determining by 9:15 a.m. that nary unit had occurred.
What is 'swatting':False progressive shooter calls clog instrumentality enforcement, terrify schools
All precocious schoolhouse students were evacuated from the schoolhouse and taken to the Memorial Gym, astir 3 miles northbound connected Main Street, according to Gagne. Buses from neighboring schoolhouse districts were parked successful a enactment successful the Sanford Plaza parking batch connected Main Street, connected telephone to prime up students who be Sanford Regional Technical Center.
Gagne called the greeting “extremely stressful and traumatic” for everyone — an occurrence with effects that “will beryllium felt for a agelong time.”
Sanford High hoax study of shooting: Police scanner audio
This is portion of the archetypal audio from the constabulary scanner arsenic Sanford, Maine, constabulary and exigency crews responded to an progressive shooter menace astatine the precocious school. The telephone was a hoax. Here is the archetypal 4 minutes of the effect up until the constabulary dispatch halfway announces they person mislaid interaction with the caller. You tin perceive the constabulary looking for a circumstantial fishy and students falsely reported arsenic being shot.
What to expect from transgression probe connected hoax report
Sanford constabulary Lt. Matthew Gagne said authorities volition bash each they tin to apprehend the idiosyncratic oregon individuals liable for a hoax that led radical to judge determination was an progressive shooter.
“We’re going to dump arsenic galore resources into uncovering this person, that’s for sure,” Gagne told reporters during a property league connected Alumni Boulevard, the roadworthy that leads to the precocious school.
The FBI and aggregate different agencies could become progressive successful the investigation, Gagne said.
The fishy perchance faces national charges, Sauschuck said. He added that the probe is going to instrumentality a while, and that the nationalist should not expect a property league and a “booking photo” of a fishy aboriginal this afternoon.
“We’re comfy with that,” Sauschuck said. “We cognize there’s nary progressive menace successful the authorities of Maine, arsenic of close now. We’re very, precise assured of that.”
Sauschuck said helium knew parents and the assemblage successful wide were “concerned, and rightfully so.”
“They conscionable didn’t cognize what was going on,” helium said. “Not lone was this a transgression scenario, but these are callous and inhumane acts against our kids, against our residents, against our parents … We are each successful connected a transgression investigation.”
What we cognize astir what happened successful Sanford
Police accidental the Sanford Regional Communications Center received a telephone telephone astatine 8:20 a.m. from an net telephone (VoIP oregon dependable implicit net protocol) falsely reporting an progressive shooter concern astatine Sanford High School and the Sanford Regional Technical Center.
Gardener and Portland received akin calls and descriptions of the shooter.
Gagne said 2 schoolhouse assets officers were successful the precocious schoolhouse astatine the clip of the call. The Sanford Strategic Response Team responded to the precocious schoolhouse and conducted a hunt of the 350,000-square-foot building. Police besides cleared the gathering and bused students to the Memorial Gym (at 678 Main St.) for genitor pick-up arsenic a precaution.
School, Maine officials praise police, occurrence response
Sauschuck praised the first-responders who rushed to Sanford High School and the different schools to unafraid premises and guarantee the information of everyone.
“What you witnessed present this greeting was a Maine-style effect to an lawsuit of this nature,” Sauschuck said. “Everybody snapped to contiguous absorption … They followed their grooming and, much importantly, they followed their hearts.”
From constabulary and occurrence officials to hospitals and LifeFlight, determination were a batch of resources prepared to enactment connected Tuesday, Sauschuck added.
Sanford Superintendent of Schools Matt Nelson thanked first-responders and said helium was arrogant too.“Quite the time for america present successful Sanford,” Nelson said. “I’m incredibly arrogant of our students and our unit and their response.”
Nelson said Sanford’s schools routinely signifier shooter drills for a reason.
“Today, we got existent practice,” helium said. “We’ve worked hard. Safety is 1 of our apical priorities.”
Nelson said the precocious schoolhouse went into lockdown erstwhile the menace was known. Once much accusation was known, each students moved into the SHS gymnasium. Then they were taken by autobus to the Memorial Gym – the “reunification site,” Nelson called it – astir 3 miles north.
Nelson said students and unit astatine Sanford High School volition not person people for the remainder of the time oregon tomorrow.
“Our radical person been done a batch today,” helium said. “We privation to marque definite that, archetypal of all, we’re each okay.”Counselors volition beryllium disposable for students and staff, helium added.
“I don’t privation this connected anyone,” Nelson said. “At the aforesaid time, it’s gratifying to cognize that we’re going to beryllium capable to determination guardant and besides beryllium successful a concern wherever determination wasn’t a tragedy.”
Hospital started preparing successful lawsuit of wide casualties that proved false
David Dagenais, elder manager of exigency absorption for Wentworth-Douglass Hospital successful Dover, New Hampshire, said the infirmary unit began preparations to person wide casualty patients aboriginal Tuesday morning, erstwhile they heard the anticipation of an progressive shooter successful Sanford.
Dagenais, who has 30 years of acquisition successful exigency management, said the proccess of however the infirmary learns astir imaginable disasters, and however rapidly it happens, has changed implicit the years.
“We heard from staff, radical who are parents of kids successful the schoolhouse district, due to the fact that they received notifications,” Dagenais said. “They were going to their departments asking to leave. Then we began seeing it connected Facebook and different societal media.”
Dagenais said the infirmary went into verification mode and began to hole successful lawsuit it was true.
“At that point, we had nary crushed to judge it wasn’t true,” helium said. “The exigency section began looking astatine their staffing, their supplies, and disposable beds. We had nary thought if we would get 1 patient, oregon more.
"The aforesaid preparations are done for different incidents, similar a large car accident,” said Dagenais.
When it turned retired to beryllium a hoax, Dagenais said they each breathed a suspiration of relief.
“We bash not look astatine it arsenic a disruption to our schedules,” helium said. “We ever request to beryllium prepared. Plus, it is simply a accidental for america to measure our exigency effect systems. I deliberation we did precise well.”
York Hospital President & CEO Patrick Taylor said his squad had started to prepare, too.
“Before Sanford School officials and the Sanford Police reported that determination was nary credible study of an progressive shooter astatine Sanford High School, York Hospital’s enforcement squad met to beryllium briefed connected the incident; prepared to acceptable up an incidental bid center; contacted our Sanford attraction determination to unafraid their safety, on with our patients connected site; and placed our ER team, located connected the York Hospital main field connected precocious alert, arsenic we awaited further information,” Taylor said successful a prepared statement.
State constabulary corroborate reports of progressive shooters astatine schools a hoax
SANFORD, Maine — Police confirmed reports of an progressive shooter incidental astatine Sanford High School and schools astir the authorities Tuesday greeting are a hoax.
A dense constabulary beingness responded to the local precocious schoolhouse successful Sanford Tuesday morning.
Shannon Moss, nationalist accusation serviceman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said they're alert of aggregate progressive shooter threats that person been made astatine schools passim the state.
"Maine State Police person been assisting section instrumentality enforcement agencies with these archetypal investigations," Moss said. "At this clip these reports are believed to beryllium a hoax. The Maine Information Analysis Center (MIAC) is heavy progressive successful coordinating these investigations."
The Sanford School Department sent a connection to parents Tuesday greeting saying the progressive shooter menace is not believed to beryllium credible.
School districts astir York County, Maine, nonstop students to the determination method halfway astatine Sanford. Officials astatine those schools, including Kittery, Marshood and others, were communicating Tuesday astir the hoax to students arsenic well.
Hoax reports astir Maine
Portland constabulary said they responded to Portland High School Tuesday aft receiving a 911 telephone astatine 8:31 a.m. reporting an progressive shooter. The schoolhouse went into lockdown and constabulary conducted a precautionary hunt and cleared the building, confirming determination was nary threat.
False reports of schoolhouse shooters person been nationalist problem
Reports of schoolhouse shootings that proved to beryllium mendacious occurred astatine schools crossed Ohio successful September, according to reporting by the Cincinnati Enquirer. The signifier of making the mendacious reports is commonly called swatting.
Earlier this schoolhouse year: Several Ohio schoolhouse hoax progressive shooter reports look to beryllium made by aforesaid caller
Hoax this summer: Bomb threats people Florida State on with different Florida schools; gathering evacuated
The mendacious reports successful Ohio were similiar and specific, the Enquirer reported. In aggregate 911 calls, a antheral identifying himself arsenic James Park falsely reported a gunman had opened occurrence and 10 students are wounded. The aforesaid calls came successful for aggregate schools. Other mendacious reports person occurred successful Florida, among different states.
Staff reporters Shawn Sullivan, Max Sullivan and Karen Dandurant contributed to this report.
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