Fairmont Heights High locks down, student arrested after bringing parts of ghost gun to school

A Prince George’s County, Maryland, high school went into lockdown for almost 90 minutes and a student was arrested Thursday after bringing parts of a ghost gun into a classroom.

Prince George’s County Public Schools and county police said Fairmont Heights High School, at 6501 Columbia Park Road in Landover, went into lockdown around noon.



Officers responded for a call of a student with a gun and searched the grounds, authorities said. They found parts of a ghost gun in a classroom, and the student who brought the parts to school was identified and taken into custody.

The lockdown was lifted at 1:20 p.m.

“As our entire nation continues to grieve the loss of life in the Texas mass shooting, the Prince George’s County Police Department wants to ensure the community that the safety of students in our schools is our top priority,” Police Chief Malik Aziz said in a statement.

“Bringing a weapon to school or even making a threat of violence will not be tolerated. We will arrest and charge accordingly.”

Prince George’s police have increased patrols at county schools following a school shooting in Texas where 19 children and two teachers were murdered. Authorities ask anyone who sees anything suspicious or learns of any potential threat at a school to notify police.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for WTOP.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining WTOP, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

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