A 23-year-old middle school teacher in Cambridge, Maryland was placed on administrative leave and “taken in for an emergency medical evaluation” after the Dorchester County Board of Education and Sheriff’s Office discovered he had written a novel about a school shooting — that is set 900 years in the future.

WBOC reports that English and Language Arts teacher Patrick McLaw wrote a novel called The Insurrectionist under the pseudonym “Dr. K.S. Voltaer.” According to its official description, novel begins “on 18 March 2902, [the day] a massacre transpired on the campus of Ocean Park High School, claiming the lives of nine hundred forty-seven individuals — the largest school massacre in the nation’s history.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Dorchester County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Henry Wagner said that “we have advised our community that the gentleman has been placed on administrative leave, and has been prohibited from entering any Dorchester County public school property.” He added that “there will be a Cambridge Police Department presence at Mace’s Lane middle school for as long as we deem it necessary.”

Dorchester Sheriff James Phillips told WBOC that “I think that the various police agencies that we have, working in conjunction with the board have a handle on the situation and I think we’re going to have a safe and happy opening day of school tomorrow.” He noted that a photograph and description of McLaw were distributed to all local area schools, as well as those in neighboring counties.

Sheriff Phillips assured parents that his department was taking the threat posed by McLaw’s science fiction novel very seriously. “A K-9 sweep was conducted at the Mace’s Lane School looking for explosive devices and other weapons. A secondary search was performed by police and school officials looking for suspicious packages or other items. Both of these searches were negative,” he said.

“The residence of the teacher in Wicomico County was searched by personnel,” he continued. “A further check of Maryland State Police databases also proved to be negative as to any weapons registered to him. McLaw was suspended by the Dorchester County Board of Education pending an investigation and is no longer in the area. He is currently at a location known to law enforcement and does not currently have the ability to travel anywhere.”

[“Men wear as a robot for the presentation Almost Human an upcoming American science fiction/crime drama on FOX Network on october 28 2013 in New York USA” on Shutterstock]