King Middle School on Deering Avenue in Portland went into lockdown Tuesday morning after a suspicious package was found in nearby Deering Oaks Park.

The Portland Police Department posted a message on their Facebook page at 8:41 a.m Tuesday that a suspicious device was being investigated at Deering Oaks Park and the department's Hazardous Device Unit was going to evaluate the situation. As a precaution, King Middle School which is right across the street from Deering Oaks, went into lockdown until the HDU could determine if the device was a threat or not. Deering Avenue was also shut down to traffic during the investigation.

Luckily, the HDU determined the device was not a threat and everything returned to normal by 9:53 a.m.

This kind of stuff has to make you think about what kind of a world we live in today. When I was in Junior High School, bomb threats were called in every so often and it was usually from some kid that just wanted to get out of having to go to school. The building was evacuated and we waited for police to check the building, which never took very long.

In this day and age, after a history of school shootings, actual bombings and the events of 9-11, anything that looks suspicious has to be treated this way. It's the right thing to do, but I never would have imagined things would come to this.

Big thanks to the Portland Police Department for taking every precaution necessary to make sure sure the kids at King Middle School and those throughout the city are kept safe in situations like this.

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