Bonny Eagle Middle School students returned to classes without incident Friday, a day after two 14-year-olds were charged with terrorizing for allegedly threatening to use weapons to attack classmates, staff and teachers.
Students who had heard of the threats alerted school staff, who immediately called the Buxton Police Department to investigate. School officials say there is no indication the students – a boy and a girl – had access to weapons.
Superintendent Paul Penna said he and other administrators were present Friday as students arrived to check in, to make sure everyone felt comfortable. The school resource officer from the high school was also at the middle school Friday.
“It gives a calming effect and lets them know everything is in control,” Penna said.
Penna said students who heard about the alleged threat and notified trusted adults deserve credit for doing the right thing. Teachers and school staff often talk to students about the importance of saying something if they see or hear of a threat of violence.
“We communicate that pretty regularly to our students because they’re a big part of the solution,” he said.
Citing student confidentiality rules, Penna said he could not talk about the two students or say if they had previous disciplinary issues. Their names have not been released because of their ages.
Buxton Police Chief Troy Cline said Thursday that the situation could have turned violent if not for the students who spoke up, although he did not say how the two students intended to carry out the threat. Penna said no weapons were brought into the school.
After police arrived, the students accused of making the threats were moved to an isolated area of the building.
Cline would not discuss a possible motive for the threats, which he said were made on social media and in conversations with students in the days prior to Thursday’s investigation by school officials and police.
Cline said the boy was the primary aggressor and threatened to “shoot the school up.” He was charged with four counts of terrorizing. The girl was charged with one misdemeanor count of terrorizing.
The students, who Cline believes are eighth-graders, were released to the custody of their parents. They are expected to appear in juvenile court in Biddeford in late March or early April.
Gillian Graham can be contacted at 791-6315 or at:
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