SOUTH PORTLAND — A Mahoney Middle School student who was charged with terrorizing last week after allegedly making threats against the school and other students will return to classes Monday, Principal Carrie Stilphen announced Friday.

The eighth-grader – a 14-year-old boy – received a summons last week for one count of misdemeanor terrorizing, police said. While there was no indication that the school or any student was ever in imminent danger, the boy was charged because threats made on Feb. 28 prompted some students to stay home from school on March 1, police said.

School officials said they coordinated their investigation and response to the incident with police, including a threat assessment, Stilphen said in a letter emailed to the school community.

“All of this helped us to have a better understanding of the incident and the student,” Stilphen wrote. “We have determined that the student is not a threat to the Mahoney community. So now it’s time for him to return.”

Students notified school officials on the afternoon of Feb. 28 that the eighth-grader allegedly had made threats against the school and other students. The school suspended the student while police investigated to determine the nature and level of the threat to the community and whether a crime had been committed.

The exact substance of the student’s threats hasn’t been described. Stilphen said last week that while the student had “talked about having a list,” no written list of targets or weapon had been found.

Maine law defines misdemeanor terrorizing as a threat to commit or cause violence that would endanger human life and places others in “reasonable fear that the crime will be committed.”

Police said last week that the case would be referred to the Juvenile Community Corrections Office of the Maine Department of Corrections for further consideration and resolution.

“We are welcoming him back,” Stilphen wrote Friday. “We are letting you know so that you are not surprised and understand the context of his return. I am confident that a plan is in place that will support this student upon his return, while also supporting the safety and concerns of our entire school community.”

Stilphen noted that “young people make poor choices, and they learn from those choices and the consequences resulting from them. That’s where we are now.”

Stilphen said she was sharing some details about the student with his family’s consent, because “they understand how important it is for young people not to be surprised or alarmed by his return.” Still, she said, “we do acknowledge that there is still work to be done around restoring relationships and repairing the harm that has been done.”

Kelley Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6328 or at:

kbouchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: KelleyBouchard