BETHEL — Police said a 17-year-old male was charged late Sunday night with making threats against School Administrative District 44 staff and students, who were told to stay home Monday.

Classes will resume Tuesday, Superintendent David Murphy said Monday.

Chief Deputy Hart Daley of the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that the juvenile is charged with terrorizing. He said he could not comment on whether the boy was a student.

“A rumor had been floating around that was of concern to us involving a possible situation at one of our schools,” Murphy said. “We actually got word of the rumor on Sunday, and spent the day and evening working with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the validity. We figured that canceling school (Monday) gives the police an additional day to conduct their investigation.”

Daley said rumors floating around prior to Sunday of a possible threat were not specific enough to corroborate whether they were true.

“The threats made against the school were directed at the staff and the students,” Daley said. “As a result, since we had not located the juvenile, SAD 44 decided it would be best to shut down school,” he said.

“We started investigating the incident and, late Sunday night, we located the 17-year-old responsible for making the threats,” Daley said. “We arrested him and charged him with terrorizing.”

Murphy said, “Safety is our top priority . . . There have been so many similar incidents across the state recently, so we’re erring on the side of caution right now.”

mdaigle@sunjournal.com