The person responsible for making repeated email bomb threats against three Montgomery County Public Schools this month is a 12-year-old who cannot be charged under Maryland law, according to a statement from police Chief Marcus Jones.
All told, the child is responsible for seven total bomb threats against three schools, the police chief said.
The emailed bomb threats targeted Montgomery Blair High School on Oct. 13, Oct. 16., Oct. 17, Oct. 23 and Oct. 24, according to police. Two elementary schools — Oak View and Silver Spring International — were targeted by a separate email threat on Oct. 15.
Detectives worked with the school system’s IT staff to track down the source of the email, and then spoke with the 12-year-old, “who admitted responsibility,” Jones said.
However, under a state juvenile justice reform law, which took effect in July 2022, children under the age of 13 can only be charged with offenses that constitute a “crime of violence,” he said.
“It is disheartening to accept that the individual responsible for disrupting the educational process and instilling fear in our community was well aware of the legal limitations surrounding their age,” Jones said in the statement. “They understood that they could not be charged under current Maryland statutes.”
Jones said the threats amounted to “reckless and dangerous behavior” that threatens the safety of students and school staff — and has a financial impact on the department.
“In addition to the fear and chaos these threats caused, it is important to acknowledge the significant financial and operational burden each incident placed on our department,” he said.
“Dispatching officers and K-9 units to investigate these threats, especially when our resources are already stretched thin, diverted our personnel away from other pressing calls for service. This diversion of resources is unacceptable, and it jeopardizes the safety of our community.”
Montgomery County Public Schools has seen repeated bomb threats this fall.
The statement from the police chief came the same day that police investigated bomb threats at Albert Einstein High School, and Springbrook High School.
On Oct. 23, bomb threats at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring and at Rockville High School resulted in officers having to sweep the campus while students and staff sheltered in place.
Editor’s Note: An initial version of this story, based on an earlier police statement, incorrectly identified the schools where bomb threats had been made. It also incorrectly identified Silver Spring International Middle School as an elementary school. The story has been corrected and updated.
