School crossing guard held in attempt to shoot student

PORTLAND — A school crossing guard opened fire on a 14-year-old student Friday morning, according to police who said the man tried to shoot a second time after he missed the youth, but his semi-automatic weapon jammed.

James F. Murphy, 40, of Portland, was arraigned on an attempted murder charge in District Court and ordered held in Cumberland County Jail pending a psychiatric evaluation.

“Apparently, the shot was fired, and it looks as though the gun then jammed after the first shot,” Police Chief Michael Chitwood told reporters late Friday morning. “The clip had five rounds in it, but it jammed.”

The boy, Clinton Drake III of Portland, was not hit in the early morning incident.

“In spite of the fact that the shooting allegedly occurred at point blank range, the youth was uninjured,” police said in a statement.

Drake, a student in the Portland Rehabilitation Education Program, is black. Murphy is white.

Chitwood said police were considering a possible racial motive, although the investigation was not complete.

“We’re investigating the possibility, but right now we don’t know for sure,” Chitwood said.

Police recovered the .25 caliber semiautomatic handgun and 50 rounds of ammunition when Murphy was arrested shortly after the incident in a convenience store parking lot.

An eyewitness to the shooting said the youth did not appear alarmed after the shot was fired.

“He didn’t appear to run, run away or anything,” said Rick Morton, who works at an oil company across the street from the convenience store. “It’s a small caliber gun, and it just made a popping noise. I think the young man probably thought it was a firecracker or a cap gun or something. He just continued walking.”

Murphy, who also worked as a security guard, was believed to have been on duty as a crossing guard at the time of the incident, Chitwood said.