A glass panel fell from the top floor of a Bethesda apartment building on Thursday afternoon, injuring a 12-year-old girl, according to police.
At approximately 5:45 p.m., a panel fell from a balcony on the top floor of the nine-story building, on the corner of Woodmont Avenue and Battery Lane.
A police spokeswoman said it was unclear “what happened yet.” She said it was not immediately clear what caused the glass to fall.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Pete Piringer said the child sustained non-life threatening injuries. He said debris struck “several people” but nobody else was transported by ambulance.
Piringer said it’s unclear what caused the glass to dislodge and fall. He said he suspects the child was injured by flying debris after the glass hit the ground and shattered.
“If the glass fell directly on someone we’d probably be looking at more serious injuries,” Piringer said.
The building houses the Flats 8300 apartments, built in 2016. The apartment complex is managed by The Bozzuto Group, whose representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
The apartments are directly above a Harris Teeter grocery store.
Bethesda resident Paige Coulman said in a phone message she and her daughter were driving by when the glass “rained down” on the group of people.
“It was definitely tempered glass raining down on them and it was quite a bit,” Coulman said. “We came back around and that’s when we saw the ambulance and police and all that.”
Caitlynn Peetz is caitlynn.peetz@bethesdamgazine.com
