16-year-old shot at Maryland high school; student suspect arrested

A 16-year-old student was wounded in a shooting inside Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, and another student was arrested, according to officials.

The shooting was reported at about 2:15 p.m. Monday, when officers from the Montgomery County Department of Police 1st District and Rockville City Police were dispatched to the school, police said.

The first arriving officers found the victim with a single gunshot wound in a hallway inside the building. The student was taken to an area hospital and remained in stable condition as of Monday evening.

Rockville Police Chief Jason L. West said the suspect, also a 16-year-old male student at the school, was identified and apprehended a short time later near the campus. Both the victim and the suspect are male.

West said a firearm has not been recovered and that investigators are still working to determine what led up to the shooting. He said there were other students in the area at the time.

Detectives are continuing to investigate and are coordinating with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, with charges forthcoming.

SWAT officers arrived and conducted a methodical search of the building. The school was cleared, and officers are continuing to search for evidence, including with the assistance of K-9 teams.

Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Taylor said the district immediately initiated a school lockdown after the shooting and that law enforcement and emergency responders arrived within minutes.

Students have since been reunified, Taylor said, adding that students and staff were emotionally exhausted and traumatized by the incident.

Thomas S. Wootton High School is located in Rockville, a city in Montgomery County just northwest of Washington, D.C.