UPDATE: Ellsworth Police Chief Glenn Moshier released the following press release Thursday afternoon.
On 12/20/17 at approximately 1920 hrs. The Ellsworth Police Department received information that an Ellsworth High School student received a threat from an unidentified source while engaging in an electronic conversation. The threat indicated a planned shooting at Ellsworth High School. An investigation into the source and potential validity of the threat began. Members of the Ellsworth Police Department with assistance from the Maine State Police Computer Crimes and the Ellsworth School department worked diligently late into the night, however the source and location of the threat was not revealed. The status of our investigation was shared with the Superintendent of Schools, Daniel Higgins who ultimately made the decision to close the Ellsworth schools for the safety and security of the students and staff.
On 12/21/17 the Ellsworth Police Department was able to establish that the source of the threat came from an IP address from Manchester England. This information was obtained from the internet site which housed the communication through a subpoena issued by the Hancock County District Attorney's Office. Once we confirmed that the threat was not a credible threat we shared the results of our investigation with the Superintendent, Daniel Higgins.
Moshier says no criminal charges are pending.
ELLSWORTH, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — School administrators in Ellsworth canceled school Thursday, Dec. 21 because of a possible threat at Ellsworth High School.
Classes were canceled for all schools in the Ellsworth school district.
School administrators said on their Facebook page they received a threatening message and were closing the schools as a precautionary measure.
Ellsworth police said the threat was discovered by several students in a gaming group chat. One of the students in the chat reported the threat.
School administrators say they are working with the Ellsworth Police and they say they will provide an update as information becomes available.
