BATH
The director of the Bath Area Family YMCA said she is proud of staff who remained calm and followed lockdown procedures during an emergency situation on Monday afternoon.
Bath police had responded to a report of a 14-year-old boy threatening people with a handgun outside the YMCA. Police later found that the weapon was actually a BB gun that resembled a handgun.
According to Lt. Robert Savary, the boy was with other juveniles outside the YMCA, when he had an altercation with a 12-yearold. Savary said the 14-yearold then allegedly brandished the BB gun, pointed it at the alleged victim and made verbal threats.
The younger boy ran away and called his mother, who called the YMCA, which in turn called police. Officers arrived, located the suspect and took the BB gun from his duffle bag, according to Savary. The series of events took place in about 15-20 minutes, Savary said.
The teen was charged with criminal threatening, a Class D misdemeanor and taken to Long Creek Juvenile Development Center in South Portland. He is scheduled to appear in juvenile court at West Bath District Court on Dec. 4.
Bath Area Family YMCA Executive Director Sabrina Murphy said that staff followed the lockdown procedures that YMCA employees and police have practiced together in the past.
“The staff did a great job with protocols and all the venues were locked down and it was very quick,” she said. “The police department had a very fast response time.”
Staff in the childcare spaces were calm and reacted appropriately.
“I’m very proud of them,” Murphy said. “I’ve talked to lot of members who hardly knew what happened and after, went back to business as normal.”
While the event had taken place outside the YMCA, Murphy kept members and the public aware of what was happening using an email alert system and social media.
Children went back outside to play after the incident, she said.
“From my perspective,” Murphy said, “safety is of utmost importance for all of our members and we appreciate the positive relationship with the Bath PD and their response time. I appreciate the professionalism of the staff.”
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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