On a tragic day just four days into the school year, a 16-year-old student shot his classmate inside a Maryland high school bathroom. The incident occurred at Joppatowne High School following an altercation, striking a 15-year-old around 12:35 p.m., according to Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler.
The school’s security officer and principal did not hear the shot but were alerted by the resulting commotion. Students dragged their wounded classmate into the hallway, where school nurses attended to him before he was airlifted to a hospital in serious condition. The shooter fled to a nearby apartment complex, starting to bang on doors looking for a place to hide, and was taken into custody “within minutes,” Gahler said.
This tragic event occurred just days after alleged teen gunman Colt Gray shot and killed four people at his northern Georgia school. The Maryland shooter is known to law enforcement but has not been identified by name or charged yet. It is unclear what type of weapon was used, nor was the gun recovered from the scene.
Law enforcement is not permitted to speak with the suspect per Maryland’s “criminal friendly laws,” Gahler said. However, he believes the teen will be charged as an adult without a police interview due to “overwhelming evidence.
Within 15 minutes of the shooting, which was initially reported as an active shooter, more than 100 law enforcement officers from various agencies swarmed the high school, located about 25 miles north of Baltimore. Students were being evacuated by 12:45 p.m., WBAL-TV reported.
The shooting scare comes just two days after 14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly opened fire at Apalachee High School in northern Georgia, killing two students and two teachers and wounding nine others. Gray and his father Colin Gray were arrested and charged with murder for the incident, which involved an AR-15-style rifle purchased by the father for Christmas months after the boy was accused of making school shooting threats.
