A Maryland student is being held without bond for shooting one of his younger schoolmates inside the school bathroom.
According to reports, Steven Alston Jr., an 11th grader from Magruder High School in Rockville, will be tried as an adult even if he's just 17 years old.
He's facing multiple charges, including attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and three weapons-related counts.
Teen student's motives remain unclear
As of press writing, it's still unclear why Alston Jr. shot his 15-year-old schoolmate. But sources believe that the suspect didn't have any other victim in mind when he brought his deadly weapons to the school.
The 10th grader that was shot was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery. Initial reports revealed that he was in critical condition.
He and Alston Jr. reportedly had a dispute, but the details remain unknown.
Magruder High School student brings ghost gun to school
According to WTOP, Alston Jr. used a ghost gun to perform the attempted murder of his classmate. But authorities do not know how he managed to bring the weapon inside the school.
Following the incident, the school went on a brief lockdown to ensure that no one else would get injured, and after police officials cleared the premises, the students were sent home, according to ABC News.
Dr. Monifa Knight, the interim superintendent of schools, released a statement thanking the teachers, staff, and students for keeping each other safe. Knight also acknowledged that the situation must have been tough for everyone.
To help ease the tensions and trauma that the students may be experiencing, a crisis management team will be deployed to the school over the weekend and into next week.
As of press writing, authorities have not spoken to Alston Jr's parents. But conversations are already being arranged to get to the bottom of the incident.
US school shootings increased last year
School shootings in the United States are not something new.
There have already been four shootings across the country in 2022 alone. And there have been 98 school shootings in the United States since 2018.
On Jan. 19, a school shooting at the Oliver Citywide Academy in Pittsburgh occurred after a 15-year-old boy waiting to go home was shot and killed by one person who opened fire.
On the same day, another shooting at Seminole High School in Florida also took place after an 18-year-old male student injured his schoolmate. Authorities later revealed that the shooting happened following a dispute between the two teenagers.
Five days earlier, two students were also shot and wounded while sitting in the parking lot of Auburn High School in Rockford, Illinois.
Last year, a total of 31 school shootings took place across the United States.
According to Ed Week, the shooting at a school in Michigan on Nov. 30 was the deadliest incident of a similar caliber that took place since 2018. The shooting saw the death of four people, and seven others were also injured.
The majority of last year's school shootings also took place after August 2021.
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