County officials are continuing to investigate what caused glass to fall from the top floor of a downtown Bethesda building last week, injuring a 12-year-old girl.
On Thursday afternoon, a glass panel shattered and fell from the ninth floor of the Flats 8300 building on the corner of Woodmont Avenue and Battery Lane. Shards of glass scattered, cutting several people. One girl was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment, according to police.
The girl’s injuries were not considered life threatening.
A police spokeswoman said the cause of the incident is listed as “unknown” in the police report and the investigation was turned over to the county’s Department of Permitting Services.
Hadi Mansouri, acting director of the department, said he does not believe something struck the glass, causing it to shatter, but there is no “definite information as to why this glass broke.”
Mansouri said building owners and management have been asked to conduct an investigation of their own and report the findings back to the Department of Permitting Services. County officials will then “come up with a plan” to address the issue, he said.
Because it is a complicated issue, no timeline has been set for that review to be completed, Mansouri 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 Monday.
This is at least the second Bethesda building from which glass has fallen from top floors in recent months.
Between mid-2017 and February 2019, glass fell from an office building on East West Highway at least three times, prompting the building owner to agree to replace the windows on parts of its glass facade.
No one was injured in any of those incidents.
A report found that the breaks were caused by nickel and sulfur impurities getting into the glass during manufacturing, according to county officials. When the sun hit the glass at a certain angle, it shattered.
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
