A 16-year-old boy is facing charges, including attempted murder, after police say he shot a fellow student and pointed a handgun at another Monday inside Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville.
While giving an update on the investigation Tuesday, Rockville City Police Chief Jason West said the teen who was arrested shot a 16-year-old boy Monday afternoon after aiming a weapon at a 15-year-old girl earlier in the day.
“In this case, the second victim did not suffer injury,” West said. “However, through investigation, we learned that the suspect in the case pointed a firearm at that person earlier in the day, prior to this shooting occurring.”
The Rockville City Police Department said in a news release the teenager has been charged as an adult. Along with the second-degree attempted murder charge, the boy was charged with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and various firearms-related charges.
Police said he was taken to the Montgomery County Detention Center’s Central Processing Unit in Rockville, where he awaits a bond hearing scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Officers with the Montgomery County Police Department were dispatched to the high school around 2:15 p.m. following a report of shots fired inside the school. A student was found shot in a school hallway and taken to a hospital.
Police said the teenager who was shot remains in stable condition Tuesday afternoon. The boys knew each other, but West said police are still investigating their relationship and the possible motive.
Police also said officers recovered the weapon, a Polymer80 9 mm handgun, that they believe was used in the shooting. West said the weapon is commonly referred to as a “ghost gun,” and officers found it late Monday night, away from the school.
“We know that those types of firearms are very difficult to trace, if we can do that at all,” West said. “Part of our investigation will include, ‘Where did that firearm come from? How did that student come into possession of that firearm, and how did it get into the school?'”
‘We did not think it was real’: Students process shooting inside school
In a morning message to students, staff and families, Wootton High School Principal Joseph Bostic said the school community is grappling with the emotional impact of the shooting and emphasized that “no one carries that weight alone.”
He said the school is prioritizing communication, mental health support and safety as classes resume.
Classes started on time Tuesday morning but not everyone was ready to go back to school.
“I just don’t understand why we’re back so soon after something like this could happen,” said Jacqueline Kelley, a junior at Wootton.
Skye Cushing, a fellow junior, added, “I think I’m just going to be getting my stuff and going home. I need to think about what happened and have some time to sit with it.”
Cushing said after the shots rang out, everyone inside the school was frantic.
“We were talking to the nurses, and we hear on the intercom a student has been shot,” Kelley said. “So immediately we were like, ‘What just happened?’ We did not think it was real. I literally felt chills down my spine.”
The school was put on lockdown for several hours following the shooting.
“There was no order or reason to what anyone was doing,” Cushing said. “So, we just need a better system in place if something like this ever were to happen again.”
Both students told WTOP the increased police presence in front of the school Monday made them feel better.
“I feel really safe with all the cop cars around, and I think they’re going to really value security from now on,” Kelley said.
Rockville City Council member Adam Van Grack has a son who goes to Wootton High.
“My son texted me from the classroom, barricaded in, thinking that was going to be the last text he gave to me. So, there’s a lot of emotion going on today. There’s a lot of trauma,” he said. “I hope that the school system is at least understanding with regard to, that people are dealing with that and that lot of kids might not be in school today.”
In a letter to the school community, Montgomery County Superintendent of Schools Thomas Taylor said resources will be made available to students and staff.
The school’s principal also urged families to use available crisis resources, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (call 988), the Montgomery County Hotline (call 301-738-2255), the Online Crisis Chat texting service (text 301-738-2255), 24/7 Counseling Support (text ‘hello’ to 741741) and the Montgomery County Crisis Center (call 240-777-4000).
Bostic said counselors and support staff will remain on school campus throughout the week.
A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 20.
WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer contributed to this report.
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