Hoax Threat Prompts Heavy Police Presence at MDI High School
Apr 03, 2026
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Havana.
BAR HARBOR—Mount Desert Island High School spent the morning in lockdown, the result of an apparent hoax that was called in via phone where the caller said that there was a man with an assault rifle outside the school.
“MDIHS was in lockdown. A call was received by the school that there was a man outside the school with an AR. Police are on the grounds of the school grounds. This has been a hoax call and I will share more when it is available. All students and staff are safe,” School Superintendent Mike Zboray sent via email shortly after 10 a.m.
Law enforcement officers from the town, county, state, and Acadia National Park spent Friday morning and into the afternoon hours making sure that there was no threat to the students and staff in the building, which is set in a wooded area and has multiple outbuildings.
The Bar Harbor Fire Department and its EMS crews also stood by in case they were needed for medical emergencies, to help keep the entrance to the school closed, and with traffic for the eventual dismissal of students.
The scanner traffic for the threat began shortly before 10.
Zboray followed up with another message and text approximately 10 minutes after his initial communication.
Because the area is wooded and the initial report of a potential assailant located him outside of the building, police had to ask in person and via social media sites such as the Bar Harbor Story to remind parents and caregivers to not go into the woods near the school while the officers continued to check and secure the area.
Shortly after 11 a.m., Zboray sent out a text saying that the students will be released at 11:30 as scheduled for the early release day. Swans Island students will take the 1:30 bus home.
However, at 11:40, Zboray wrote, “Dear Parents – I have just been informed that the police will be doing a final sweep around the building to be sure all is safe. This will take about half an hour to complete. At that time, students will be released to their buses and cars to go home. They are doing this out of an abundance of caution to ensure student and staff safety.”
Scanner traffic indicated it would be closer to 12:30 for dismissal.
Students gathered in the gym until Principal Haney dismissed them from the main building. Busses were first released, then students and staff in their own vehicles. After that, cars were allowed onto the property to pick up students and staff.
Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Chief David Kerns also wanted us to let people know that they they first gathered students in the gym for accountability prior to dismissal procedures while clearing the building to make sure there were no threats.
The police were still clearing the building’s first floor shortly after 11 and hadn’t yet checked the outbuildings, according to scanner traffic. Those students were then released from those buildings, brought to the gym, and then were dismissed.
A bus from Hancock County Technical Center arrived at approximately 11:15 a.m. with students who staged at the entrance prior to being let into the parking lot and police escorting them into the building.
During the lockdown, access to the high school by people not with law enforcement was not allowed.
Hancock County Sheriff’s Department wrote that “the area around the MDI High School has been secured as a precaution for an unverified reported threat. Please remain clear of the area while law enforcement units secure the campus and conduct evacuation of personnel to designated safe areas.”
PREVIOUS THREATS
It is not the first time the high school has been locked down.
In 2022, there was a lockdown and an eventual evacuation of students, staff, and teachers to the Mount Desert Elementary School before the juvenile suspect was apprehended by the Bar Harbor Police Department.
The school, along with many others in Maine, was also the victim of a swatting attempt approximately two weeks later.
On September 29 of that year, the high school had another lockdown, which occurred around 1:15 p.m. That was a false alarm according to Zboray, who sent a letter to the parents of students quickly after the event.
In 2018, the high school made the news when it postponed a lockdown drill that had been scheduled for February 15, the day after the Parkland shooting tragedy in Florida. Some of the students instead had a silent protest and vigil in the hallway.
In April of 2018, the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department arrested a 17-year-old MDI High School student who lived in Franklin for allegedly posting a threat to “shoot up” the school. He was charged with class C terrorizing, a felony. That threat had been sent via Snapchat to a Hancock resident. In February of that same year another student pretended to be a different student and posted another, different school shooting threat.
According to CNN, “Swatting is not new – it was on the FBI’s radar as early as 2008 – but its origins are murky.
“At the most basic level, swatting is similar to the prank calls you and your friends might have made growing up.
“The difference is, swatting is a prank call made to authorities with the express purpose of luring them to a location – usually a home – where they are led to believe a horrific crime has been committed or is in progress.
“This results in a forceful response from local police or SWAT teams, who have no way to know the call is a hoax.”
Yahoo News calls swatting a way of “weaponizing fear.” And there are psychological costs for swatting incidents or credible threats and lockdowns such as the one that happened at MDI High School.
SUPERINTENDENT ZBORAY’S MESSAGE
Zboray’s initial April 3 message at 10:02 read, in full, “MDIHS was in lockdown. A call was received by the school that there was a man outside the school with an AR. Police are on the grounds of the school grounds. This has been a hoax call and I will share more when it is available. All students and staff are safe.
“Your child’s safety is our top priority. DO NOT come to the school or attempt calling the office until you are notified that lockdown/barricade is lifted.
“Lockdown/barricade is implemented when the imminent threat of violence or gunfire is identified on the campus, or the school is directed by law enforcement to implement lockdown/barricade. Students are to remain in designated classrooms or lockdown locations at all times with doors locked and barricaded, until cleared by law enforcement or site administration.”
This story will likely be updated with official statements. All photos: Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network responding to child trauma reactions
- Assisting Parents/Caregivers in Coping with Collective Traumas
- Creating Supportive Environments When Scary Things Happen
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