SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A lockdown at Southern Maine Community College was lifted Tuesday morning after police persuaded an armed man to surrender on campus, authorities said.
South Portland police said officers were alerted shortly after 9 a.m. to a 51-year-old Westbrook man near the Spring Point Lighthouse who was threatening to kill himself with a handgun. The man then entered the SMCC campus with a loaded firearm and told authorities he intended to take his own life.
The college went into lockdown around 9:15 a.m. as officers responded. A police negotiator reached the man by phone and, after a conversation, convinced him to put down the weapon and surrender peacefully, officials said.
The man was taken to a local hospital by South Portland Fire Rescue. No injuries were reported.
The lockdown was lifted around 9:40 a.m., and campus officials said the college was safe to resume normal activities.
Per a South Portland Police Department press release, the male was transported by South Portland Fire Rescue to an area hospital. There are no reported injuries or and there are no criminal charges.
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