WESTBROOK, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Reports of a gun on campus sent Westbrook schools into lockdown procedures on Friday morning.
Police in Westbrook said a teenager who had an airsoft pistol in his car at the high school will not face any charges. Another student reported the boy holding the gun, which prompted a lockdown at the high school and three schools nearby.
An alert was sent to parents at around 9:15 this morning, after reports of a man with a gun entering the high school. Police searched the school but did not find anything threatening.
Police Chief Janine Roberts said three male teenagers – two 18-year-olds and one 16-year-old — were in a car in the high school parking lot with an airsoft pistol. A student walking by saw the airsoft pistol, went into the school and told a teacher he saw a student enter the school with a gun. Police found the student who was reported to have that weapon in a classroom. He told them he left the airsoft pistol in the car.
Chief Roberts said the teen never took the gun into the school, and charges were not filed because the airsoft pistol is not considered a firearm under Maine law.
"It's a signifigant threat when officers are faced with somebody with a fake weapon or whatever it is we don't know," Chief Roberts said.
During that time, a lockdown was initiated at the high school, Oxford-Cumberland Canal School, and Westbrook Middle School. Traffic was also blocked on surrounding roads.
Parents outside the school shared their fears with NEWS CENTER after many of them received nervous text messages from their children on the inside.
The lockdown lasted for an hour. It's not known if the student will face any punishment from the district.