Some Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School students were involved in a fight Wednesday morning in a downtown Bethesda park that involved shots fired and caused the high school to go into lockdown, according to Principal Shelton Mooney.
“After a video of the fight was reviewed by school officials, it was determined that some of the students involved were B-CC students and the school went into a lockdown out of an abundance of caution,” Principal Shelton Mooney said Wednesday in a letter to the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School community.
According to Montgomery County police radio transmissions, a caller reported around 10 a.m. that a group of roughly 20 “kids” were fighting on the street in front of Chase Avenue Urban Park before the group scattered after hearing a gunshot.
County police and the Maryland-National Capital Park Police said in social media posts Wednesday that officers from both organizations responded to the park at 4701 Chase Avenue, about a block from Wisconsin Avenue. No injuries were reported and no one was in custody after the incident, police said. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High at 4301 East West Highway is less than 1 mile away from the park.
According to Mooney’s community message, a community member informed the school’s main office at around 10:10 a.m. that they had witnessed a fight and heard gunfire at the Bethesda park after which the individuals involved in the fight dispersed. Mooney said B-CC administrators contacted the school’s Community Engagement Officer, a county police officer assigned to the high school cluster. Mongomery County Public Schools’ Office of School Support and Department of School Safety and Emergency Management were also contacted.
According to radio transmissions, at about 10:20 a.m., an officer reported school administrators were reviewing footage of the incident to see if any B-CC students were involved. Mooney said in the community letter the school determined B-CC students were involved by reviewing the video.
A video shared with Bethesda Today that purportedly shows the incident and seems to match the radio transmission description shows two male teenagers fighting one another while other male teenagers watch. Other members of the group join the fight and begin yelling and hitting one another. As the group continues to fight, the teens move into the street. At one point during the fight, one person can be heard yelling to others to back up and another can be heard saying “it’s loaded.” A gunshot is heard, but a gun isn’t seen on the video, and the group scatters.
Two shell casings were found at the scene, according to radio transmissions.
According to Mooney’s letter, the school entered lockdown at 10:57 a.m., during which MCPS staff and police identified students who were involved, reviewed security footage and gathered “additional information.”
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High community members were informed of the lockdown around 11 a.m., according to text messages shared with Bethesda Today. At around 1:20 p.m., the school was transitioned to a shelter-in-place after the school determined that students in the building were safe, according to the community letter. School was dismissed at its regular time, according to text messages shared with Bethesda Today, but all after-school activities were canceled.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, a private school for kindergarteners through eighth graders at 7500 Pearl Street in Bethesda, was also on lockdown, according to Principal David Long. He said anytime Bethesda-Chevy Chase High enters a lockdown, the private school follows suit out of an abundance of caution.
Mooney said additional MCPS security staff and Montgomery County police will be available at the high school for the rest of the week and counselors also will be available for students and staff. Teachers were asked to postpone any tests scheduled for Thursday.
