CAMDEN — Police say an emailed threat that led to the closure of Camden area schools Wednesday morning was a hoax.
Camden and Rockport Police Chief Randy Gagne said that by midmorning, local, state and federal authorities determined that numerous other schools in Maine along with a school in Florida received the same message.
“At this point we are confident that this incident was a hoax,” Gagne said.
An administrator checking email Wednesday morning saw the threat message shortly after 6 a.m. Superintendent Maria Libby was immediately notified and contacted Camden Police. After a review and discussion, school administration and police decided closing the school was the best option, the chief said. He said closing school allowed police time to research the threat and to conduct searches of the school buildings.
Searches of all school buildings in Camden and Rockport were conducted by officers, firefighters, and custodial staff. Nothing of a suspicious nature was located, he said.
“We will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners in an attempt to identify where the threat originated from and the identification of the perpetrator,” Gagne said.
There will be no classes on Wednesday, nevertheless. Schools had previously been scheduled to release students early because of the pending snowstorm.
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