Gunman arrested after holding students hostage

STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine - Police say a gunman held 11 fifth-graders hostage at an elementary school in Maine but was tackled by a state trooper and taken into custody without any harm to the children.

chief deputy robert keating of the waldo county Sheriff's Department says the students were safely removed from the school.

The gunman was identified by police 55-year-old Randall Hofland, a man who fled police last week after pointing a gun at an officer during a traffic stop.

Stephen mccausland of the Maine department of public safety says Hofland walked into a classroom friday morning. The gunman had released the students by the time he was tackled by a state trooper 30 minutes later.

The school in the small coastal town of stockton springs has about 80 students.

Tags: town of stockton springs,stockton springs maine,waldo county,town of stockton,robert keating,department of public safety,maine department,mccausland,state trooper,chief deputy,fifth graders,traffic stop,coastal town,gunman,friday morning,county sheriff,hostage,30 minutes

Friday, October 31, 2008 |

---