A 15-year-old boy is in custody Wednesday after an incident at Northwood High School, in Silver Spring, Maryland, that led to a shelter-in-place order at that school and a lockdown at an elementary school.
In a letter to parents, Principal Jonathan Garrick said school officials got an anonymous tip that the student had brought a gun to school. When the boy was brought to the office, two rounds of ammunition were found on him during a self-search. The boy then ran off.
Spokeswoman Shiera Goff told WTOP that Montgomery County police were notified about the tip at approximately 10:30 a.m. but no officers were present at the time the boy showed the ammunition in the office. She added that school officials were not allowed to “touch the student or physically detain the student” after the self-search.
School officials called the police, Garrick said; Northwood went into a shelter-in-place situation, and Forest Knolls Elementary School, next door, went into lockdown.
The boy turned himself in about an hour later, Garrick said, adding that police found a gun in a bush off of school property as part of their search. Goff said it’s not known whether it belonged to the student.
The boy was taken into custody without incident. No weapons were found in his possession during the arrest, Goff said.
“Charges will be determined as they go on in the investigation as they gather more information,” Goff said.
Because of the age of the student, police will not be releasing his name.
WTOP’s Michelle Basch contributed to this story.
