A 16-year-old student was shot at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Monday, Feb. 9 during school hours. The victim, whose identity remains disclosed, was rushed to a local hospital, where they currently remain in stable condition.
The suspect, another 16-year-old student at Wootton, was apprehended shortly afterwards outside of school grounds. The Rockville City Police Department (RCPD) found a 9-millimeter handgun in the suspect’s backyard.
“[The suspect] has been charged as an adult in connection with the shooting,” the RCPD said on their website. “[He] is charged with attempted second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and various firearms-related charges, including possession of a dangerous weapon on school property.”
No other casualties were reported. Immediately after the incident, the school went into lockdown, authorities closed down roads and students were reunited with their parents at the nearby Robert Frost Middle School.
“First, they dismissed us area by area onto buses and moved us to the gym,” said Izzy Wang, a freshman at Wootton High School. “By then, I was exhausted, and the noise from so many people made it worse. When I finally got home, I had a headache and felt really fatigued. My dad went to pick up my sister around 3 p.m., but I didn’t get picked up until 8. He kept saying the whole process felt messy and ineffective.”
The shooting at Wootton follows a period of heightened security at schools in FCPS, specifically the installation of metal detectors this year. Wootton, which is not in FCPS, did not have metal detectors.
The school shooting has sparked discussion about the efficacy of FCPS’s safety measures. OpenGate metal detectors were installed at both of McLean’s major entrances at the start of the school year. On Feb. 5, McLean had its second lockdown drill. Still, some students believe it’s not enough.
“While [metal detectors are] a step in the right direction, I don’t think they have done anything, and I don’t think they ever will,” McLean senior Kareem El-Jazzar said. “There are so many easy ways to sneak stuff into the school, and if we want to prevent weapons from entering schools and harming people, they need to do way more than what we have at the moment.”
While Wootton is 33 minutes away and separated by the Potomac River, some McLean students feel concerned because of the parallels between the two schools. McLean and Wootton are both regarded as academic powerhouses, consistently ranking in the top of U.S. News & World Report lists in Virginia and Maryland respectively. Both schools serve affluent communities and have seldom experienced the surge of gun violence gripping the rest of the nation.
“These schools are so similar,” El-Jazzar said. “If a shooting can happen at Wootton, then it definitely could happen here. It’s really sad and unfortunate that this has almost become the norm in this country.”
The shooting shattered the sense of safety at the school.
“Since I was new and had just moved, I didn’t think much about how safe Wootton was. I’d heard about past issues, but I was focused on schoolwork,” Wang said. “It still concerned me, though. Because I’ve heard about so many mass shootings, Wootton felt relatively safer than those places. Now I feel like the possibility of a shooting at our school has increased, and that’s scary.”
In the meantime, Montgomery County Public Schools released a statement on Feb. 10 addressing the incident and reaffirming its support for community members.
“We continue to work closely with law enforcement, mental health professionals and community partners to protect our students and ensure our schools remain places where students can learn, grow and thrive,” the statement said. “During this painful time, we will continue to stand together to provide care, support and safety for all.”
