On February 27, at 10:08 a.m., Cumberland County dispatch received a report of a man on South Street carrying a rifle and wearing a ghillie suit. A ghillie suit is a type of camouflage clothing designed to resemble the background environment such as foliage, snow or sand. The caller further described the gun as having laser sights and said the man was shining it into a residence.
Gorham Police notified the School Department, and both Gorham High School and Village School were locked down. Automated calls went out to residents living or working near the center of town advising them to lock their doors and stay inside.
Gorham High School was initially told to lock down but after further consultation, Superintendent Perry and Gorham Police Dept. agreed on a soft lockdown which meant the doors were locked, students were kept inside the building, and classes continued. The schools e-mailed parents to inform them about the lockdown.
Roadblocks closed South Street, and Baxter Memorial Library was also locked down, although patrons were allowed to leave and library staff could admit people they recognized. USM texted students and advised them to avoid the area.
Officers who hear the radio traffic or are in the area often come to assist in these situations. As a result, police from Windham, Westbrook, Scarborough, Portland and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office all responded to the scene. A three-apartment residence on South Street where the caller thought the man had gone was searched but nothing was found. There were no tracks in the snow where the caller said he had seen the man.
Police now believe there was no man with a gun and the caller was misguided. If there had been a man with a gun wearing a ghillie suit, police would have expected to receive more than one call about that person. The Gorham Police Dept. is continuing to investigate but no longer believes there is a threat to the public.
Gorham High School was evacuated the following day and students were sent to Shaw Gym at the Municipal Center due to a bomb threat. Parents were asked to stay away from the high school and the Municipal Center until the police had more information. Canine dogs from the Maine State Police that are trained to locate explosives were brought in to the high school but did not turn up anything suspicious. A note in the boy’s bathroom had said there was a bomb and police are reviewing tapes from a camera outside the bathroom for more clues.