SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A juvenile was taken into custody Friday following an incident at South Portland High School that prompted a lockdown on Friday.
The school was in lockdown as of 10:15 a.m. By about 11 a.m., the lockdown was lifted.
South Portland schools Superintendent Timothy Matheney said at a news conference at 11 a.m. that there was an individual outside the school Friday morning who raised suspicion and was initially believed to have had a weapon, which prompted the school to go into lockdown.
Further investigation revealed that the person did not have a weapon, and there was no clear indication of whether that individual had any connection with the school.
In an email to the families of students, Matheney disclosed that the juvenile was carrying an Airsoft gun replica.
"According to reports that I have subsequently received, the individual in question did not intend to harm anyone today, and students and staff were safe throughout the events of the morning," Matheney said in the letter.
The suspect never made entry into the school, according to the superintendent, and was met by the school resource officer.
"At no point was any student or staff member in danger in the course of the morning," Matheney said at the press conference.
During the lockdown, officers went room by room to ensure there was no further threat to students or staff at the school, South Portland Deputy Chief Kevin Gerrish said.
School officials also commented that the incident was not related in any way to the former student charged earlier this year with threatening others to commit murder at the school.
Students were left in a lockdown for the majority of the morning. Freshman Olive Mann was in an art class when she overheard an announcement over the school intercom.
"A lot of my friends have anxiety, too, so it was like we were all trying to connect with each other and see what was going on."
A parent of one of the students inside, Jose Enguti, explained his accounts as the morning unfolded.
"I saw some messages from him, from Juni. Juni was telling me, 'We're not safe here. We're locked down,'" Enguti said. "I was chatting with my wife, like, what's going on?"
Students and parents who spoke with NEWS CENTER Maine said they felt the incident was handled safety and efficiently.
Students and families are also being encouraged by the school to reach out to school counselors and administration if further support is needed.
"The individual was not immediately cooperative [with the school resource officer], which raised the level of our response," Gerrish said. "He was taken into custody. It was determined that it was not a weapon, but again, under an abundance of caution we continued with the lockdown and continued the investigation."
The school issued an early release for all students for 11:45 a.m., and counselors were made available to students and faculty.
The suspect has been identified as a juvenile, according to a news release issued Friday afternoon by the South Portland Police Department. The juvenile reportedly fled when an officer attempted to detain him.
"The incident is still under investigation to determine if there will be criminal charges," the release stated.
Police also noted that the incident Friday is in no way related to the South Portland juvenile who has multiple pending charges, including arson, terrorizing, and criminal solicitation.
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