WASHINGTON — Two Maryland teens were arrested and charged with possession of a firearm and other offenses Friday after bringing a handgun to the Montgomery College Germantown campus and threatening another student on social media.
Officers were responding to a report around 9:15 a.m. that Menlik N. Sirleaf, 17, of Gaithersburg threatened a Montgomery College student. Officers were first looking for Sirleaf when they saw Sirleaf and another teen, Guga Vashakidze, 18, of Clarksburg, walking in a parking lot on campus and later trying to flee from police on foot.
Officers took the two men into custody, and found a handgun, suspected marijuana and a digital scale in Vashakidze’s backpack.
The Montgomery College student told officers that Sirleaf had threatened to harm him while Sirleaf was on campus on Oct. 1. The student also said Sirleaf posted a photo of himself holding a handgun and later posted on the same social media account that he was going to come to the Germantown campus and look for the victim.
Officers were first on the college grounds looking for Sirleaf. In a police interview, Sirleaf admitted that he came to campus around 9 a.m. carrying a gym bag and met Vashakidze in a campus bathroom inside the school. Sirleaf then put the handgun into Vashakidze’s backpack.
Sirleaf is being charged as an adult with attempted first-degree assault, possession of a handgun on school property, other handgun-related offenses and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute. He’s being held without bond.
Vashakidze is charged with possession of a handgun on school property and with possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute. He’s currently being held on a $5,000 bond.
