PORTSMOUTH –– A Maine man was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for threatening to “shoot up” Portsmouth High School, according to U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young.
Kyle Hendrickson, 25, was charged with one count of interstate threatening communications and one count of possessing a firearm in a school zone.
Hendrickson had been previously arrested on a criminal complaint.
The indictment follows a video Hendrickson posted on his Snapchat account on April 12, 2023, in which he brandished a handgun while in a vehicle parked outside Portsmouth High School.
The video, overlaid with the text “imma shoot up the school,” prompted school surveillance to identify Hendrickson’s vehicle at the scene.
Law enforcement officials recovered an AR-15 rifle, a shotgun, camouflage body armor, a handgun holster, a red-dot sight, and numerous rounds of ammunition from Hendrickson’s vehicle.
A handgun similar to the one featured in the Snapchat video was also found near a motel where Hendrickson had stayed on the day of the video post.
Each charge Hendrickson faces carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
Sentences are determined by federal district court judges based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and applicable statutes.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division and the Portsmouth Police Department. Additional assistance was provided by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Somersworth Police Department; the Portland, Maine Police Department; and the Berwick, Maine Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.
The charges are allegations at this point. Hendrickson is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
