TOPSHAM (NEWS CENTER Maine) — It was a scary time Thursday morning for parents of several hundred children who attend Woodside Elementary school in Topsham.
The school was evacuated after information about a possible bomb threat was reported. There have been more than half-dozen threats and other incidents at schools throughout the state since the Parkland High School In Florida on Valentine's Day.
Police don't believe this was a copycat incident following the horrific shooting in Florida. They are working to track down where the information came from because they take all and any potential threats seriously.
The incident happened between 8:30 and 9 a.m. when a parent called in third-hand information about a possible bomb threat at Woodside Elementary. Students were being dropped off and arriving by bus. They were diverted to the middle school where parents could pick them up and take them home. As they rushed to get their kids some said with all the recent shooting taking place they feel their kids are safer at home than school.
The threat comes after school officials requested police officers to be at Mt. Ararat High School on Friday morning in response to an exchange on social media Thursday night that some people perceived as a threat.
"We never would have imagined we would be standing at the high school and get another threat at the elementary school," said Topsham Police Chief Christopher Lewis. "I am sure there was confusion and anxiety."
The middle and high school did have classes Friday but some parent came and took older students home because that's where they thought they would be the safest.
