A 14-year-old boy from Maine has been taken into custody after authorities discovered he had compiled a hit list and was allegedly planning to harm fellow students.
As news of the incident spread, numerous parents chose to keep their children home from school on Friday, a day when a holiday assembly was scheduled before the winter break at Windham High School. The freshman involved was placed under house arrest, according to a report by WMTW.
The arrest occurred after a classmate raised alarms about the boy’s behavior on Monday night. By Tuesday, law enforcement had charged the teen with criminal solicitation, criminal conspiracy, and making terroristic threats.
Investigations revealed that the boy had not only created a list of intended targets but also used a school-provided laptop to research how to acquire a firearm. A fellow student noticed this activity and promptly reported it to the police.
Gina Kostopoulos, a parent, decided to keep her four children out of school on Friday.
“It’s incredibly unsettling. Given the circumstances, it seems inadequate to simply place someone on house arrest under parental supervision. With so much happening, a mere slap on the wrist is insufficient,” she expressed.
Police, however, said there was no current threat to the school or its students.
Windham police told the school district there is no current threat to the school or its students.
“We have no reason to believe there are additional threats or that any students, staff or school occupants are in danger,” Windham Police Chief Kevin Schofield told WGME. The police department extends its gratitude to the students who promptly reported this matter; their actions were instrumental in ensuring the safety and security of everyone within this high school community,” Windham Police Chief Kevin Schofield said.
“There isn’t any danger to students,” Superintendent Christopher Howell told WMTW. “First of all, the Windham police department has been great, great partners with us but have assured us that through their investigation they are more than confident that is it safe for us to be in school and for us to continue on with all of our regular programming.”
Schofield said that investigators don’t believe the teen bought a weapon, WCSH reported.
Those student who did attend on Friday saw a heavy police presence outside the school.
