Active shooter hoax calls at Maine schools were ‘very real’ to those involved

Gardiner police Chief James Toman, seen Friday outdoors Gardiner Metropolis Corridor, was among the many first officers on scene Nov. 15 after a caller reported an lively shooter state of affairs at Gardiner Space Excessive College. The decision was certainly one of 10 related hoax calls made made to varsities all through the state, together with to Winslow Excessive College. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Police Chief James Toman was down the road at Gardiner Regional Center College  on Nov. 15 when a name got here in to native police dispatch round 8:45 a.m. claiming there was “an lively shooter” at Gardiner Space Excessive College. 

Toman arrived at the highschool in a few minute after which entered the constructing after placing on his bulletproof vest. By the point he made it by means of the doorways, together with his gun drawn, he had two different officers by his facet. 

“At the moment, we had no thought,” Toman instructed the Kennebec Journal not too long ago. “I didn’t learn about Sanford or something like that. This was 100% an actual factor that we had been responding to, and we didn’t know something.” 

Gardiner was amongst 10 Maine colleges that day receiving hoax calls about an lively shooter, which stays underneath investigation by the state police and FBI. Brunswick, Ellsworth, Fort Fairfield, Houlton, Portland, Rockland, Sanford, Winslow and Wiscasset all had excessive colleges impacted by the occasion, drawing police responses and creating heart-wrenching confusion as authorities investigated the studies. 

Interviews with police officers and paperwork shed new gentle on the minute-by-minute response to the faculties in Gardiner and Winslow, however different information are being withheld by authorities. The Kennebec Journal requested the 911 transcripts of the hoax calls made to Gardiner and Winslow police dispatch and different calls associated to the state of affairs, however the workers legal professional for Maine State Police issued a blanket denial for these information by citing, amongst different causes, the continued investigation by police. An legal professional representing the newspaper has despatched a follow-up request in search of redacted variations of these information and has not but acquired a response. 

Even so, the brand new particulars by Toman and others are portray a fuller image of how authorities responded to the calls at a time after they didn’t know they had been hoaxes. The calls got here towards the backdrop of the Could 24 taking pictures at an elementary faculty in Uvalde, Texas, the place an 18-year-old former pupil fatally shot 19 college students and two lecturers, and wounded many others.

Toman stated police departments throughout the state beforehand had been made conscious of comparable threats made throughout the nation that ended up being hoaxes. He had that reality in thoughts as he made his manner by means of the hallway and realized the character of the state of affairs didn’t match as much as a real-life lively shooter state of affairs.

“There was not a lot commotion, however we weren’t going to take any probabilities,” Toman stated. “ We went to that space the place it was alleged to have occurred and primarily based on observations of what we had been seeing in that space, then coupled with no feeling within the constructing of hysteria, we got here to the belief that there had not been an occasion.” 

Toman and different officers checked in with the principle workplace and put the varsity into lockdown so nobody might get in or depart. In keeping with Toman, the individual on the opposite finish of the decision posed as a trainer and stated a shooter was in a particular part of the varsity. 

Within the Gardiner police log that’s launched to the general public on a weekly foundation, the narrative states the caller alleged there was a shooter with “black pants, black jacket, white male with a protracted rifle. Caller is in room 100” and that “5 college students had been injured.” 

Gardiner dispatch stated in the identical log entry, “caller has an accent, telling me the trainer is within the classroom,” and that the caller claimed “leg, hand and again accidents.” The dispatch stated that after they tried to get extra data from the caller, “he disconnected on me.”

Toman stated round two-dozen first responders confirmed up on scene and in groups. They cleared every classroom of the highschool. College students stayed of their rooms because the constructing was checked.  

Toman stated his group was “effectively outfitted” to deal with the state of affairs. They’ve had intensive coaching to cope with a state of affairs equivalent to this one and stated the one factor they’d enhance on is communication. 

“In Maine, we’re not going to let that occur, what occurred in different elements of the nation occur in Maine. We’re assured of that,” he stated. 

‘IMMEDIATELY JUMPED’

Simply earlier than 9 a.m. on Nov. 15 in Winslow, police acquired a disturbing telephone name from an individual claiming to be a trainer at the highschool, saying a taking pictures was going down.

Although Winslow police took the decision severely, Lt. Bradley Hubert stated it instantly raised suspicions, too. 

Hubert stated the individual had referred to as the police division’s enterprise line as a substitute of dialing 911, and from a blocked quantity. Each of these information had been purple flags, presumably as a result of these added steps take time that somebody in a life-threatening state of affairs wouldn’t must waste, Hubert stated. 

An administrative assistant took the decision and commenced asking the caller questions. 

“The responses to these questions weren’t aligning with issues that may make sense if an precise incident was occurring,” Hubert stated. 

He stated the caller was both unable to or was not keen to volunteer data the dispatcher requested for. Regardless of their declare to being a trainer, they’d not give their identify and couldn’t say what classroom they had been in.

After talking with the individual, the dispatcher rapidly phoned Ellen Stewart, Winslow’s faculty useful resource officer. Stewart was in her workplace on the time, which Hubert defined is in a wing of the highschool. The constructing Stewart occurred to be in was the place the taking pictures was supposedly occurring. 

“So she instantly jumped up and checked on that wing and didn’t discover any threats,” Hubert stated.

Stewart was not accessible for remark for this story, however Hubert stated that she was capable of decide the taking pictures was a hoax inside 10 minutes of the decision coming in. 

Although Hubert stated the police division despatched a pair officers to the highschool to verify the whole lot out, it was confirmed there was no credible risk to the campus, and no reported suspicious exercise. As with a handful of different cities and cities statewide, the individual calling had filed a false report. 

Winslow Superintendent Peter Thiboutot stated in an e mail to folks that Stewart might be working with native and state authorities to watch developments within the case.

‘IT WAS REALLY TERRORISM’

Pat Hopkins, the superintendent of Maine College Administrative District 11, which incorporates Gardiner Space Excessive College, instructed the board of administrators on Dec. 1 that the response from regulation enforcement was “spectacular.” Chief Toman stated if the risk had been actual, “lives would have been saved” primarily based on the coaching college students within the district had.

The response from workers and college students was that they “knew what to do,” largely due to ALICE coaching with Principal Chad Kempton. ALICE — which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate — is a coaching program to arrange folks for an lively shooter state of affairs.

Skilled college students and staffers locked the doorways, hid and turned the lights out. 

College students had the choice to depart after the occasion and Hopkins stated round 80% to 90% of scholars left with their dad and mom. The rest stayed at college, which Hopkins stated she felt good about as a result of in any other case the scholars would have gone residence to an empty home.  

The varsity’s doorways had been open for many who wanted assist. 

“Whereas it was a hoax, it was not a hoax. It was actual. What we felt was actual; it was actually terrorism,” Hopkins stated.  

The coed consultant to the varsity board, Alyssa Henderson, stated she spoke with a pupil from every grade stage and that whereas it was scary, they had been happy to have had the coaching to answer such an occasion. 

“A senior I spoke with stated it was scary, after all, however that ALICE coaching had numerous advantages, and so they knew what to do. They had been grateful for that,” Henderson stated. 

Each Hopkins and Toman stated their departments discovered to enhance on communication sooner or later.

“I wasn’t pondering on the time, ‘I have to notify dad and mom,’” stated Hopkins, including that it’s one thing they are going to think about for any potential future emergency. 

INVESTIGATIONS CONTINUE

A number of excessive colleges throughout New Hampshire on Thursday acquired related lively shooter threats and went into lockdown till police decided it was a hoax, Seacoast On-line reported.

The threats have been trending throughout the nation and reporting from NPR in October confirmed that a lot of the threats originate outdoors of the nation. It was reported that 182 colleges throughout 28 states acquired false lively shooter 911 calls between Sept. 13 and Oct. 21. 

Authorities haven’t indicated the place the Maine threats originated, however officers within the space have since described the calls as an “act of terrorism,” and Gardiner Space Excessive College college students referred to as on lawmakers to offer security measures to maintain college students and others protected.

There aren’t any particular pointers for colleges throughout the state to host lively shooter coaching, however the state Division of Schooling has a Maine College Security Middle with the assets wanted for lecturers and college directors to be versed in emergency response. The Augusta Police Division took its personal initiative and hosted lively shooter coaching this summer time.

In a press release Friday, an FBI spokesperson stated the federal company “is conscious of the quite a few swatting incidents whereby a report of an lively shooter at a faculty is made and is working alongside our regulation enforcement companions in figuring out the supply of the hoax threats.”

“As a result of ongoing investigation, we’re unable to offer extra particulars. Nonetheless, it is very important observe that regulation enforcement goes to make use of all accessible assets to analyze a faculty risk till we decide whether or not it’s actual or not,” in line with the FBI assertion. “Investigating hoax threats drains regulation enforcement assets and diverts us from responding to an precise disaster. Hoax threats can shut down colleges, trigger undue stress and worry to the general public, and price taxpayers some huge cash, to not point out wreck the way forward for these making the hoax threats as they’ll possible have a felony report.”

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