Portland police arrested a 15-year-old Portland High School student after they found a realistic-looking pellet handgun in his backpack last week.
The male student was charged with one count of Class D terrorizing, police said in a statement Monday.
Administrators learned about 7:45 a.m. on Thursday that he had threatened sometime earlier to bring a gun to school.
By 8 a.m., the school resource officer located the student in a class and searched his backpack. Lt. Robert Martin, spokesman for the Portland Police Department, said the resource officer found a pellet gun that resembled a “realistic handgun” in the backpack.
Police said no specific threats were made to the school, other students or staff. The student was released into the custody of his parents.
The case is now in the hands of the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, which will review it before deciding whether to move forward with charges. Separately, the Portland School Department will determine whether other discipline is warranted.
Portland Superintendent Xavier Botana said in an email Monday night that the school department will follow through with appropriate discipline based on school policies “with all appropriate due process.” He did not elaborate on what the discipline might involve.
“There was not a threat issued at any time,” Botana said. “Administrators learned about the possibility of the student having a weapon from a report they were given on Thursday morning. The investigation is ongoing, but I do not believe that the weapon was ever displayed.”
Botana said the high school did not go into lockdown, adding that “the appropriate response for this specific situation” did not call for one.
Parents were notified Friday morning via school messenger, Botana said.
The identities of juveniles charged with misdemeanor crimes are confidential.
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