Harpswell Community School was briefly locked down on Wednesday after police received a call about a man with a rifle who turned out to be defending his chickens.
Deputies from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to an address on Harpswell Road after a caller said a man, who they thought was barred from possessing guns, had walked behind the house possibly holding a rifle, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Given the early information, the history of contacts with this subject, the proximity of the Harpswell Island school … and out of an abundance of caution we requested a lockdown at the school until we could get units on scene to determine if there was a threat or not,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
At the house, the deputies discovered that the location provided by the caller was incorrect and that the incident actually happened at a different address about 2 miles south on Harpswell Island Road.
The resident of that house, who was not barred from possessing firearms, confirmed that he had come outside with a .22 caliber rifle and gone behind the house to defend his chickens, which were being attacked, the sheriff’s office said.
Police did not say what was attacking the chickens.
