ROCKLAND – A Rockland man is now undergoing a psychiatric evaluation after saying that voices in his head were telling him to shoot up a school, police said. This threat prompted three Rockland schools to go into immediate lockdown Tuesday morning, May 29. As a precaution, all other schools within the RSU 13 system also locked their exterior doors and kept students inside.

According to Rockland Deputy Chief Chris Young, the unidentified man made this statement to a third party, who then reported the conversation to Rockland police around 9 a.m.

Though police knew the name and home address of the man from the third-party report, they did not know at what point he may have entered a vehicle and driven to an area school. Therefore, step one was to go directly to Oceanside High School, Oceanside Middle School, and the Midcoast School of Technology in order to secure those facilities by locking down all exterior doors and remaining highly visible, according to Young.

Once law enforcement from the Knox County Sheriff’s Department relieved them, the Rockland police then made a plan as to locating the man.

Soon after, police located him, took him into protective custody, and transported him to an area hospital for further psychiatric evaluation.

While searching the man’s residence, police seized several high-power hunting rifles.

All RSU 13 schools lifted their extra security measures at 11:20 a.m, after Rockland police notified school officials of the man’s custody.

The man has not been arrested, and therefore his name has not been released, according to Young.

Reach Sarah Thompson at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND – Student activities in RSU 13 returned to normal, Tuesday, May 29, after administrators received word that an individual who’d made threats against the schools had been located.

In the morning hours, all seven schools in the district went into lockdown mode after Rockland police notified school officials of the threats, according to Superintendent John C. McDonald.

“In an abundance of caution all of our schools went into lock-out mode for a short period of time until the police could access the threat,” McDonald said in a statement. “School safety continues to be our number one priority and we always act swiftly to make sure students are safe. We follow all of our safety protocols and work in partnership with our law enforcement agencies.”

Students were kept indoors and entrance doors were locked at Oceanside High School, Oceanside Middle School, Region 8, Cushing Elementary School, Gilford Butler Elementary School, Thomaston Grammar School, Owls Head Elementary School, and South Elementary School during the incident.

At 11:20 a.m., however, McDonald received word from the police department that the individual had been contacted, and that the situation had been resolved. The lockdown was then lifted.

This story will be updated when more details become available.

ROCKLAND – Student activities in RSU 13 returned to normal, Tuesday, May 29, after administrators received word that an individual who’d made threats against the schools had been located.

In the morning hours, all seven schools in the district went into lockdown mode after Rockland police notified school officials of the threats, according to Superintendent John C. McDonald.

“In an abundance of caution all of our schools went into lock-out mode for a short period of time until the police could access the threat,” McDonald said in a statement. “School safety continues to be our number one priority and we always act swiftly to make sure students are safe. We follow all of our safety protocols and work in partnership with our law enforcement agencies.”

Students were kept indoors and entrance doors were locked at Oceanside High School, Oceanside Middle School, Cushing Elementary School, Gilford Butler Elementary School, Thomaston Grammar School, Owls Head Elementary School, and South Elementary School during the  incident.

At 11:20 a.m., however, McDonald received word from the police department that the individual had been contacted, and that the situation had been resolved. The lockdown was then lifted.

This story will be updated when more details become available.