WASHINGTON — A student at Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, Maryland, was grazed by a bullet while walking to the school Monday morning, police said.
Around 8:50 a.m., Montgomery County police responded to the Burtonsville Volunteer Fire Department after a 17-year-old boy walked in and said he had been shot. The teen, who is a Paint Branch High student, told investigators that he had left the school to buy something at a nearby convenience store. As he was walking back to the school, he heard a gunshot and realized that he had been struck, police said.
The 11th-grader was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. He had a graze wound to his cheek and ear, police said.
Police indicated there was no danger to the school community, but as a precaution, there was an increased security presence at the school and no open lunch on Monday, principal Myriam Yarbrough said in a letter to the community.
Police believe this shooting was not a random event and that the suspect may know the victim. They continue to investigate and ask anyone with information about this shooting to call 240-773-6870.
WTOP’s Teta Alim and Ana Srikanth contributed to this report.
