A Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School student faces charges of possession of a weapon on school property and other offenses after he allegedly brought an airsoft gun to the downtown Bethesda campus, resulting in a lockdown Tuesday morning, according to Montgomery County police.
Police said on social media Tuesday afternoon that a male juvenile taken into custody following the lockdown at the high school was in possession of an airsoft gun, a pellet gun that resembles a firearm. The student was charged with disruption of school activities, possession of a weapon on school property and possession of a concealed weapon, county police spokesperson Shiera Goff told Bethesda Today in an email Tuesday afternoon.
According to Bethesda-Chevy Chase High Assistant Principal Leanna Blandford’s message to the B-CC community sent at roughly 11:45 a.m., the school went into lockdown after a “credible report” from one student that another student had a gun in a backpack and was displaying it in a school bathroom. The school initiated lockdown procedures, according to Blandford’s message, and alerted county police.
According to police radio transmissions, administrators called police at around 10:20 a.m. Staff members also called 911 reporting a student with a firearm. The school entered lockdown at 10:24 a.m., according to the radio transmissions. According to the MCPS website, a lockdown is an emergency response to danger in the school or campus. During lockdowns, all students, staff and visitors report to the “nearest securable location under adult supervision” until police have controlled the situation.
After a “thorough search of the building” and review of security footage, school staff determined the student believed to have a gun had left the building before the lockdown began, Blandford’s message said. At about 10:40 a.m., police reported on radio transmissions the student was last seen at about 10:15 a.m., leaving the high school on East West Highway and heading toward Silver Spring on foot.
At roughly 11 a.m., officers also reported on radio transmissions the student left the school before the lockdown. Officers searched the student’s nearby home, according to transmissions, and said his mother told them he wasn’t there and was supposed to be at school. Police searched a local recreation center after the teen’s mother said he often hangs out there.
At 11:11 a.m., the school moved to a shelter-in-place while police continued to search for the student in the community, police posted on social media. Shelter-in-place occurs when there are public safety concerns in the community near the school. All exterior doors are secured and classroom teaching continues, according to the MCPS website.
Officers searched for the student and ultimately took him into custody at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Leland Street in Chevy Chase, which is nearly one mile from the high school, at approximately 11:30 a.m. The student walked to the intersection after his mother contacted him, according to the radio transmissions. Police called for firearms investigators after taking the student into custody.
Blandford noted in her message the teen was apprehended with the help of the student’s parent, allowing the school to end the shelter-in-place around 11:40 a.m. The lockdown and shelter-in-place lasted about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
This is the second lockdown for the school within six days. On Wednesday, a large group fight that involved shots fired off-campus at Chase Avenue Urban Park at 4701 Chase Ave. in Bethesda caused the high school and a nearby private school to go into a lockdown. No one was injured in the incident. The high school at 4301 East West Highway is less than a mile away from the park.
That incident also involved Bethesda-Chevy Chase High students, according to a Wednesday letter from the principal.
Two suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting: Nicolas Blanco, 18, of Bethesda, and an unnamed juvenile. 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.
On Friday, a Montgomery County District Court judge ordered Blanco 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.
“We understand that incidents like this do create high levels of concern and anxiety, particularly in light of the recent incident involving a student fight off campus that had gun involvement last Wednesday,” Blandford said in her message. “Such incidents are absolutely unacceptable, and we are committed to ensuring a safe environment for our students and staff.”
Blandford said the school was compiling “comprehensive answers” to a series of questions the school’s Parent Teacher Association sent regarding ongoing safety measures.
