Two Noble High School students could face expulsion after being charged with terrorizing in connection with last week’s bomb threat that led to the evacuation of the high school.

Police on Friday charged two students, 17 and 15, with felony terrorizing, which is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, said North Berwick Police Chief Stephen Peasley.

The students allegedly used Twitter to direct a bomb threat at the school Jan. 14, a threat that said “children and wives needed to be hidden and closed with vulgar language and racial epithets,” according to an update provided by Superintendent Steven Connolly on the School Administrative District 60 website. The threat led the district to evacuate the school, relocating 1,100 students to the middle school for the remainder of the day.

The district board of directors was scheduled to meet Thursday night in private session to consider the expulsion of the two students who, because of confidentiality laws, were not identified. Connolly said in his statement that the “full measure of school policy” would be applied to the students responsible for the threat.

Connolly praised students who shared access to the Twitter post with officials, and also cited the investigative work performed by the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit, Ogunquit police and detectives from Berwick and North Berwick, Peasley said. The disruption and fear caused by such behavior is serious, he said, explaining the felony charge.

“You never know if it’s a prank or not,” he said. “Most times it is but you can’t take that chance. We take it very seriously any time something like that happens. We’ve had calls from many parents who are obviously in fear for their children’s safety.”

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