Several schools in Maine are the target of “swatting” calls

Police say they responded to “swatting” calls at schools in several Maine communities.

On Tuesday morning, Maine State Police said several communities had received threats from armed individuals on school campuses across the state.

State Police say these calls were “swatting” incidents. Swatting is a false threat in which someone fakes an emergency, such as a shooting, to trigger an emergency response.

According to Maine State Police, there is currently no known threat to students, staff or the public.

Bangor police said they responded to a hit call at a local school. There is no emergency and all students and faculty are safe.

Officials say South Portland High School is currently on lockdown as police investigate reports of an incident at the school. No one is harmed and there is no evidence of an actual threat. All schools in South Portland are in safe mode as a precaution. The school lockdown is expected to be lifted shortly.

The South Portland Community Center, which is being used as a polling place, was also placed on lockdown, but that has since been lifted.

Sanford police said they received a similar call. They could quickly determine that it was not credible, and the vote at Sanford High School was not disrupted.

Scarborough police said they also responded to a reported threat at Scarborough High School. This is one of numerous reports of incidents of this nature coming in across the state. Police are investigating the threat and the vote is currently still open.

According to MSAD 17, there was an online threat to Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School on Tuesday morning. This threat turned out to be an incident of “swatting.” Officials say the threat came from the same IP address, originating from a foreign country, that had been used in the past. The caller used the same presentation at each location. At 10:30 a.m. the operations manager gave the all-clear.

Officers in the Berwick and Bangor areas also received strike calls.

This story will be updated.