NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine — An 11-year-old boy has been charged with terrorizing after a suspicious device was reported on an MSAD 15 school bus.
The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office stated in a news release Friday that law enforcement officials located the sixth-grade student and the suspicious device at the student's home.
Investigators determined the device was not explosive, according to the release.
The student was conditionally released into his parents' custody, the release stated.
The sheriff's office responded to the report shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday in New Gloucester, the sheriff's office said Thursday in a news release.
"At the time, the bus had a mix of middle and high school-aged students on board, approximately 15 total students," the release stated.
Deputies said the bus driver immediately stopped the bus in a safe location and evacuated the bus.
First responders with the New Gloucester and Auburn fire departments responded to the scene, along with law enforcement. Among responding law enforcement was a Maine State Police Bomb Squad and Bomb Detection K-9 Team, as well as Auburn police.
Ricker Road was shut down to traffic between Bald Hill Road and the Auburn town line for about two hours while the incident was being investigated. The road reopened at around 5 p.m.
MSAD 15 school officials "arranged for a unification point for the students evacuated; removing them from the location safely and transporting them to a nearby location," the release said.
Administrative assistant Maggie Humphrey with the Central Office of MSAD 15 said in a news release at about 4 p.m. Thursday that the incident occurred on Bus 13 during the middle school/high school drop-off run.
At the scene, Lt. Jim Estabrook with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office told NEWS CENTER Maine that there had been a "suspicious device" on the bus, but he said then he did not believe it was an explosive device.
Humphrey said all students and drivers were safe.
The incident remains under investigation by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division.