CARROLL CO. STUDENT TO BE CHARGED WITH BRINGING GUN TO SCHOOL

(HAMPSTEAD, MD) – A student is being charged as a juvenile after he voluntarily surrendered a handgun he brought to a Carroll County middle school today to a school staff member he went to for help.

The student is a 15-year-old male from Manchester, Md. He is not being identified because he is being charged as a juvenile. He is in the eighth grade at the North Carroll Middle School, in the 2400-block of Hanover Pike, Hampstead, Md. Charges are pending. Maryland State Police will be consulting with the MD Department of Juvenile Services and the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s regarding charges.

Shortly before 11:00 a.m. today, the student was in the school lunchroom for his lunch period when he approached an assistant principal in the room and said he was struggling with thoughts of suicide. The assistant principal contacted the guidance counselor who met with the student privately.

During the meeting with the guidance counselor, the student handed her a soft cooler bag in which he carries his lunch. Inside the bag, the teacher found a suicide note and a semi-automatic pistol.

The guidance counselor immediately called the school principal, who quickly contacted a Maryland state trooper who was teaching DARE in a nearby classroom. The trooper responded and took the weapon into custody.

Troopers from the Maryland State Police Criminal Investigation Section at the Westminster Barrack responded to conduct an investigation. They are working in cooperation with the Carroll County Public Schools coordinator of school security and the administration at North Carroll Middle School.

The preliminary investigation indicates the student carried the weapon from his home to school this morning in his lunch bag. Students arrive at school at about 7:30 a.m. He stored the bag in his locker until his lunch period today when he carried it into the cafeteria.

Troopers identified the pistol as a .40 caliber semi-automatic. There were rounds in the gun’s magazine, but there was not a round in the chamber of the gun. Troopers are continuing the investigation to determine who the gun belongs to and how the student was able to obtain it.

There is no indication at this time that the student had any desire to harm anyone other than himself. There is no indication anyone else was assisting him or that anyone else even knew of his intent to harm himself.

The investigation is continuing.