Police seized a shotgun and several knives from a Bowdoinham teenager they say threatened Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham.
Officials from the school notified Topsham police Monday of a post on the social media outlet, Discord. The threat identified the school and the day and time physical violence would take place, Topsham police said.
Using a screen name associated with the threat, police determined it had been made by 19-year-old Jonas Cloukey, who was arrested Monday night. Cloukey is a former Mt. Ararat student, police said.
Police searched Cloukey’s home on River Road in Bowdoinham Monday night and seized a firearm, several knives, two computers and cellphones, police said.
Cloukey was charged with terrorizing, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in jail. He is expected to appear in court May 8.
“The Topsham Police Department is confident he is the sole suspect in this investigation and thanks to a connected person, we were able to close this investigation successfully,” the department said in a Facebook post.
In February, police responded to two threats in the same day at schools in SAD 75. The threats made against Mt. Ararat High School and Woodside Elementary School on Feb. 16 were determined not to be credible.
Since the Valentine’s Day school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and teachers, there have been at least a dozen threats against Maine schools. More than 10 teenagers have been charged in connection with those threats.
Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:
ggraham@pressherald.com
Twitter: grahamgillian
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