Maine Gunman Held Fifth-Graders Hostage

Maine Gunman Held Fifth-Graders Hostage
55-Year-Old Man Arrested By State Troopers; No Students Were Hurt
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STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine, Oct. 31, 2008


(CBS/ AP) A gunman who had been on the lam for a week held 11 fifth-graders hostage at a school Friday but was tackled outside a classroom without any harm to the children, police said.

Randall Hofland, 55, had released all the students and had turned over a gun to one of the former hostages before he was arrested at Stockton Springs Elementary School, authorities said.

He was taken to jail and all of the school's pupils, about 80, were taken by bus to an elementary school in neighboring Searsport, where witnesses were being questioned by police.

"These children are very brave. They did a tremendous job," Gov. John Baldacci said.

The gunman walked into a fifth-grade classroom around the start of the day. The teacher escaped to call the police, leaving the students alone with the gunman, according to reporter Amy Erickson of CBS affiliate WABI in Bangor.
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