By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

A “suspicious” person inside a vehicle parked at Stevens Brook Elementary School last week triggered a facility lockdown.

Bridgton Police Chief Phil Jones said a man was sitting inside a vehicle parked in the lot at the front of the school building for “an extended period” at 12:45 p.m., raising concerns amongst staff.

A report to BPD was made, which triggered Stevens Brook Elementary School to implement “emergency procedures” such as restricting access to the school as law enforcement — Bridgton Police and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office — responded.

In a letter to parents, SBES Principal Courtney Smith wrote, “While the situation was swiftly addressed by law enforcement, I want to assure you that the safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our utmost priority…We understand that these situations can be unsettling for some students, and we want to assure you that our staff is trained to handle such incidents with the utmost care and professionalism. During our emergency procedures, staff maintained calm attitudes and were able to continue with normal routines.”

Chief Phil Jones said the man, who resides in Standish, made phone calls to an adult working at Stevens Brook Elementary. Police say the man also left “threatening messages” to an individual, in another town. That person had secured a protection order against the man.

Police, acting on behalf of the Oxford Police Department, arrested the man for violating the protection order.

Once the arrest was made, police informed school officials and the lockdown was discontinued.

“Based on everything I saw, school staff handled the situation quite well,” Chief Jones said.

As expected with several cruisers at Frances Bell Drive, Bridgton Police received several inquiries from the public regarding what was unfolding at the school.