A 15-year-old former student at Richard Montgomery High School was arrested after allegedly bringing a handgun to the school Tuesday, Rockville City Police said. The incident was the latest in a spate of reports related to weapons or intruders at Montgomery County Public Schools.
Security staff alerted the school’s community engagement officer at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday to the presence of a former student on school grounds and the possibility the teen was carrying a handgun, according to a news release. A block from the school, Rockville City Police encountered the student, who they say did have a handgun, and arrested him, per the release. The teen faces firearms-related charges, police said.
Police say the incident was not related to a lockdown Jan. 13 at the school.
“Rockville City Police continues to work closely with Richard Montgomery High School and Montgomery County Public Schools to ensure the safety and security of students and staff remains the highest priority for our community,” the release states.
Police ask anyone with information to call the Rockville City Police Criminal Investigations Unit at 240-314-8938.
On Friday, Montgomery County Police Department arrested a student at Kensington’s Albert Einstein High School, saying he had brought brass knuckles, a knife and marijuana onto the campus. A BB gun was found at the school as well, but police said they could not link it to any particular person.
On Jan. 10, police retrieved a pellet gun from Gaithersburg Middle School.
In the Jan. 13 incident at Richard Montgomery, a lockdown followed a report that a student had seen a gun. No gun was recovered. Rockville City Police said the incident was a dispute involving students from Richard Montgomery High School and a neighboring school.
In December, an “unknown student” was apprehended at North Bethesda Middle School – the second time such an incident has been reported this semester.
Steven Alston Jr., formerly a student at Derwood’s Col. Zadok Magruder High School, was sentenced in December to 18 years in prison for attempted first-degree murder in a shooting in January 2022 in the school bathroom.
The charges arose from an incident where Alston, then 17, shot 15-year-old DeAndre Thomas with a ghost gun, leaving the victim with life-threatening injuries and rocking the Magruder community. Alston pleaded guilty to the charges in October.
The shooting triggered ongoing community conversations about the role of police officers in schools and the need for more student mental health services, better emergency communication systems and increased school transparency and date-sharing.
