A judge sentenced a teenager to 18 years in prison on Thursday after he was accused of using a ghost gun to shoot another student at Magruder High School in Maryland in January.
Steven Alston Jr., 18, previously pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted first-degree murder. While incarcerated, Alston will be admitted into the Patuxent Youthful Offender Program.
“This is the first time that we’ve ever had a shooting in a Montgomery County Public School,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said.
Alston, who was 17 years old on when he shot a 15-year-old inside of a school restroom using a ghost gun, was charged as an adult. Ghost guns don’t have serial numbers, making them untraceable, and their parts can be bought online and assembled at home.
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Photos of Alston with the gun were found on his phone during the investigation. A video showed Alston skipping in school after the shooting.
“It looks as if he was celebrating what he had just done,” McCarthy said.
Prosecutors said the two boys agreed to meet in the bathroom for what the victim thought was a fist fight, but Alston showed up with a gun, first aiming it at the victim’s head, then shooting him after a struggle over the gun.
Alston’s attorney said he had been bullied, harassed and terrorized at school. He read a statement Alston wrote apologizing and expressing remorse.
“Steven is a person of limited abilities, and so, it’s difficult for him to speak in public,” defense attorney David Felsen said.
The victim’s mother told the judge her son spent almost two months in the hospital and had 10 surgeries. He’s now back at Magruder and did not attend Thursday’s hearing.
“It has been emotional torture,” the victim’s mother said. “I don’t believe any parent should have to watch their child fight for their life.”
An attorney for the family spoke against claims that Alston’s actions were the result of bullying.
“I think the victim-blaming narrative in this case went really out of hand and was frankly disgusting,” the family’s attorney Alexander Bush said.
Two of Alston’s teachers spoke on his behalf, saying he struggled academically but was quiet and respectful. One asked for leniency; the other said Alston deserves a second chance.
The school was on lockdown for hours before police found the teen suspect inside a classroom.
A security guard found the 15-year-old shooting victim bleeding heavily from his stomach area in a bathroom. The guard and several staff members used a "stop the bleed" kit to provide lifesaving aid to the teen, according to Montgomery County Public Schools Chief Safety Officer Edward Clarke's after-action report.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich praised a school nurse, Megan Wilson, for rendering first aid.
"I am especially grateful to Magruder's School Health Nurse Megan Wilson for her lifesaving actions that directly helped save the injured student," Elrich said in a statement.
