Multiple reports of active shooter situations at schools across Maine on Election Day are not credible, state police said Tuesday morning.
State police said various crisis lines in Maine received threats of armed individuals Tuesday morning on multiple school campuses around the state. State police said they are working with their various partners and were able to determine that the calls were swatting incidents intended to provoke an emergency response.
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The Maine State Police is aware of Swatting calls at schools throughout Maine and the country. We can confirm that there is no threat to the public. pic.twitter.com/UNGLkaJN2B
— Maine State Police (@MEStatePolice) November 5, 2024
"There is presently no known threat to the students, staff or public at this time," state police said in a statement. "The Department of Safety encourages law enforcement and school leadership to continue to use due diligence when reviewing any new potential threats."
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Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows told News Center Maine that some of the high schools that received swatting calls were also polling places.
"Election administrators and law enforcement worked together to make sure voting continued, and it was great to see their success," Bellows said. She added that known polling places impacted include Scarborough, Sanford, Lewiston and South Portland.
South Portland High School went into a lockdown at 10:30 a.m., and the nearby South Portland Communitiy Center, which serves as a polling place, was placed in lockdown as a precaution. Voting there was temporarily impacted, with no one permitted to enter the building for about 10 minutes.
No further details were released.
