An 18-year-old was arrested on Friday after calling dispatchers and falsely claiming that an active shooting was occurring at a southern Maine Hannaford supermarket.
At around 11:19 a.m., the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Standish Hannaford location after receiving a call from someone inside the store claiming there was an active shooter, according to Capt. Dean Fredericks.
According to Fredericks, the call came from a phone that was operating in emergency only mode, meaning that it was from a device that had been deactivated.
When Cumberland County Sheriff’s officials and members of the Gorham Police Department responded to the supermarket, they were able to determine that there was not an active shooter and the call was a hoax.
Pather Joyce of South Portland was taken into custody at the Hannaford location, and has been charged with making a false public report, which is a Class D offense in Maine. Joyce was transported to the Cumberland County Jail.
Further information was not immediately available.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated where Joyce is from. He is from South Portland.
