Magruder High School students tweeted about shooting instead of calling 911: police
ROCKVILLE, Md. - A heightened police presence was on display at Magruder High School in Montgomery County Tuesday morning following Friday's shooting that left a 15-year-old student in critical condition.
Authorities say 17-year-old Steven Alston Jr. was taken into custody about two hours after the shooting happened Friday afternoon in Rockville. He has been charged as an adult with attempted second-degree murder, felony assault and weapons offenses. He is being held without bond.
Heightened police presence at Magruder High School following shooting
A heightened police presence was on display at Magruder High School Tuesday morning following Friday’s shooting that left a student in critical condition. Montgomery County Councilmember At-Large Hans Riemer joined us to discuss the situation.
In court Monday, prosecutors said say Alston Jr. bought parts for the 9 mm ghost gun he used in the attack online and assembled it with a friend.
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Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office Juvenile Court Division Chief Carlotta Woodward said he brought the gun to school anticipating a conflict and went into a boys bathroom that Friday afternoon with the loaded gun in his waistband. He allegedly pointed the gun at the victim's head and when the victim pushed the gun away, he was shot in the pelvis area, Woodward said.
Woodward said after the shooting, Alston Jr. went to a classroom with other students and was found with the magazine with nine bullets in his sock.
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Officials from the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD), the State’s Attorney Office, and Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) conducted a joint news conference Monday to give an update on the Magruder High School shooting.
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At a press conference, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said, investigators learned that other students who had been in the bathroom tweeted about the shooting, identifying the suspect and the victim, instead of calling 911 or alerting staff that a classmate had been shot.
The wounded student wasn't found until a security sweep during the change in classes, Jones said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
