EAST MILLINOCKET – A perceived threat forced Schenck High School into partial lockdown mode on Wednesday and will likely force heightened security in town schools until the Christmas holiday begins, Police Chief Garold Cramp said.

A janitor working the night shift Tuesday, after school got out for the day, discovered words written on a restroom wall that could be perceived as a threat. He told school officials and police, who began their investigation that night, Cramp said.

“It wasn’t saying anything specific was going to happen, but there was a specific date,” Cramp said Wednesday. “Anything to do with the school system we have to take it seriously and do whatever we can do to make the schools’ safe.”

Cramp and Officer Warren Brown were at the high school for most of Wednesday discussing the issue with school officials and investigating. A letter from school officials describing the incident and lockdown procedures went out to parents through students on Wednesday afternoon, Cramp said. A copy of the letter was not immediately available.

Coming on the heels of media coverage of incidents in Belfast and Pittsfield that forced at least partial closings of two high schools on Tuesday, Wednesday’s incident might be a copycat, Cramp said.

“I’d like to think that it’s not a copycat thing but it’s always a possibility,” he said.

Police have developed a possible list of suspects but not yet begun interviews, Cramp said.

Today, students will see a partial lockdown at the school, possibly having their movements between classes restricted. They might see a greater police presence on campus, Cramp said.

Friday, school security will be tighter, in accordance with the date on the threat, he said. That might include restricted use of backpacks or searches. No school is scheduled for Monday due to the holiday.

Anyone arrested in connection with the incident might be charged with terrorizing or criminal mischief, Cramp said. Terrorizing can be a Class C felony that carries a $5,000 fine.

“It can’t be taken lightly, not in today’s climate,” Cramp said. “We take it seriously and we will prosecute.”

The incident was the Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes region’s first since a Millinocket Middle School student was charged in late April with terrorizing and criminal mischief for writing an oblique threat on a restroom wall that forced his school and adjoining Stearns High School into lockdown for two days. The incident was among a series of threats in Millinocket schools.

A lockdown involves, among other things, searches of the entire campus, including lockers, by police and school officials before school starts; running students past metal detectors and searching their bags and persons; limiting and documenting student access to hallways during the day; police maintaining a presence at the school throughout the day; and canceling after-school activities.

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