Orono students were able to return home safely, after a long lockdown enacted at 11:15 a.m. The procedure came in response to two anonymous social media posts that threatened a shooting would occur at noon. A juvenile who attended Orono High School was arrested and taken into custody for terroristic threats; another person of interest was identified as well. No firearms were found.

Schooling will still occur tomorrow, with a police presence and crisis team at each building, according to superintendent Dr. Karen Orcutt.

While students hid in classrooms, the Orono Police Department worked at finding the source of the threat and guaranteeing school safety; they received aid from the FBI in doing so. Entrance onto the school campus was barricaded, with Old Crystal Bay Road closed off. At the high school, Principal David Benson made regular announcements over the loudspeakers, informing students that their safety was being guarded.

6th grader Danielle Pearson said that students were “chill” because they were able to play on their phone. She explained that updates were given to the middle school students as well. “The principal said that we were very very safe behind those locked doors and also don’t be startled if we saw police officers in full gear,” Pearson said.

As students were unable to go to the cafeteria for lunch, snacks were delivered to rooms. At 2:45 p.m., Orono Schools sent out an email update confirming that all after school activities were cancelled and that students would be held past their usual dismissal times until the police gave an approval. At 3:45 p.m., students in grades K-5 were granted bus dismissal; at 4:35 p.m., secondary students were released from lockdown with buses expected to arrive around 5:00 p.m.

“Until I saw the update that there was no intruder, I was waiting every minute for a gunman to burst through the door. Thank goodness no one was hurt today,” junior Alexis Mullen said, “It was a long day for everyone, especially for Mr. Benson who did a wonderful job looking out for the safety of his students.”

Today’s scare followed a potential threat that had been posted on social media the day before, however there was no correlation between the two threats. The threat on Tuesday had already been investigated and deemed not credible by the Orono Police Department. More information on Tuesday’s incident can be found here: OHS resolves social media scare, unrelated to lockdown