A Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School student allegedly involved in a Wednesday morning shooting during a fight in a downtown Bethesda park was ordered Friday to be held without bond in Montgomery County District Court in Rockville, according to digital court records.
No injuries were reported after the incident at Chase Avenue Urban Park at 4701 Chase Ave., less than 1 mile from the high school at 4301 East West Highway, according to the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. The shooting caused Bethesda-Chevy Chase High and a nearby private school to go into lockdown that morning.
Nicolas Paolo Blanco, 18, was arrested by the Maryland-National Capital Park Police on Thursday. He faces charges of first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and firearm-related offenses for the non-contact shooting during the fight involving a number of youths.
During Friday afternoon’s bond hearing, District Court Judge Victor Del Pino ordered Blanco, one of two suspects arrested in connection to the shooting, to be held without bond.
Blanco is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Boyds while he awaits a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 21, according to digital court records. An attorney for Blanco, Eric Bacaj, did not immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s request for comment Friday afternoon.
Another suspect, a juvenile whose name has not been released, was arrested for firearm-related charges Thursday, park police said. No further details were provided.
Charging documents state Blanco and the juvenile suspect were identified as B-CC High students after school officials reviewed video footage that was taken of the incident.
B-CC High Principal Shelton Mooney said in a letter to the school community Wednesday that school officials had determined that individuals seen in a video of the fight at the park attended the school.
A 911 caller reported the incident around 10 a.m. Wednesday, advising of an assault involving roughly 20 “kids” and sounds of a gunshot, according to police radio transmissions and the charging documents. The caller reported the group was fighting on the street in front of the park and then scattered after hearing a gunshot.
Park police officers responded to the area at 10:10 a.m. and recovered two live 9mm bullet rounds, a black face mask and a white audio earbud on Tilbury Street near the park, documents state. No suspects were seen in the area when officers arrived. Later officers canvassed the area looking for suspects but did not make any arrests at the time.
The juvenile and Blanco were arrested Thursday. An arrest warrant was issued for Blanco Wednesday, according to digital court records.
Montgomery County police and park police officers interviewed four witnesses who remained at the scene after the incident, the documents state. One of the witnesses had taken a 20-second video of the fight with their phone, which showed a “physical altercation involving what appears to be approximately 10 juveniles, with two or more individuals actively fighting, and the sound of what sounds like a gunshot can be heard,” according to the documents.
A video shared with Bethesda Today that purportedly captures the incident 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, a 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.
Park Police officers also spoke to a fifth witness who was at B-CC High and had reported he saw the fight and shooting, according to the charging documents. This witness, who requested to remain anonymous, told the officers he observed the incident while walking to a nearby 7-Eleven.
He told officers there was a struggle over a handgun during the fight, saw an extended magazine from the handgun drop to the ground and then heard a gunshot, the documents said. He also told officers the two suspects fled in a black Dodge Charger and shared video footage from an “unknown source” of the fight with police. According to charging documents, this video footage of the fight “circulated on various social media platforms after the incident.”
B-CC high school officials also reviewed the footage and identified the two suspects and others involved in the fight as B-CC students, the charging documents said. One of those students allegedly was Blanco.
Later detectives ran a registration check on vehicles belonging to Blanco and found that a 2016 black Dodge Charger was registered in his name, charging documents said. When county officers searched the parking garage of the address in Bethesda listed on the registration, they located the Dodge registered to Blanco.
