STOCKTON SPRINGS, Maine, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- A man wanted by police briefly took 11 children hostage Friday morning at a Maine elementary school before being arrested, officials said.
Richard Holland, 55, gave his gun to one of the youngsters at the Stockton Springs Elementary School and let the children go shortly after police arrived, WMTW-TV in Portland reported. A state trooper grabbed him and took him into custody.
Holland, who lives in Stockton Springs, was being held at the Waldo County Jail in Belfast. Police had been looking for him since Oct. 23, when he allegedly pulled a gun on a police officer during a traffic stop in Searsport.
State police said that Holland was arrested within half an hour of the initial call about the hostage situation, the Ellsworth American reported.
Stockton Springs is a small town about 60 miles up the Maine coast from Portland.
