RICHMOND — A third incident in recent weeks of someone scrawling a message about a bomb at Richmond Middle/High School has police, school officials and students increasingly determined to halt the disruptions.

“Bomb Friday 12:30” was discovered scratched into a door inside the boys locker room Tuesday.

The message, according to Regional School Unit 2 Superintendent Virgel Hammonds, was found by a student athlete after practice. The message was not there at the end of the school day, indicating it was written sometime after school Tuesday.

Richmond Police Chief Scott MacMaster said police searched the school and found nothing suspicious.

Wednesday morning, MacMaster spoke with all the boys at the high school, at the invitation of Principal Deborah Smith.

The incident Tuesday and two similar incidents last month occurred in boys bathrooms or locker rooms. Hammonds said there has been no indication the messages were left by someone from outside the school.

“We basically had a discussion about the recent threats and student conduct and how this has become frustrating, not only for staff, but for students,” MacMaster said of his discussion with students. “We gave the kids an opportunity to voice their frustrations, and share some ideas about how we can stop it. They seem even more frustrated than we do. We talked about how this is their community, their school. We’ve got to find an end to this and they’ve got to have some ownership.”

Hammonds noted there was already no school Friday, a teacher workshop day.

MacMaster said school officials will review footage from several cameras in the school that were operating at the time the incident is believed to have occurred. Based on the video, school officials will submit to police a list of people who were in or around the area the message was found.

Hammonds said police consider the incidents to be a series of bad pranks.

He said school officials have followed the direction of police, whom he praised for their handling of the situation.

But Hammonds acknowledged the incidents have been disruptive and frustrating.

“In speaking to many community members and students, people are fed up with the actions of this person or persons,” Hammonds said. “They desire for us to find the people involved, and prosecute to the extent of the law. I think we are all on the same page here.”

MacMaster told students if they know who may have written the messages, keeping that a secret is not helping anyone, including whoever is writing them. He said the messages could be a red flag, and cry for help or attention by whoever is leaving them.

Keith Edwards — 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com