Montgomery County police have charged a 15-year-old student for calling in a fake bomb threat against a high school Thursday — a day after the department said a 12-year-old was responsible for seven bomb threats against several different schools in the county.
Police evacuated Paint Branch High School Thursday morning after a bomb threat, and detectives identified the teen responsible with the help of Montgomery County Public Schools staff, authorities said. The student was charged as a juvenile with making threats of mass violence and released to their parents, police said.
“Right now, our personnel are already [stretched] thin and this diverts a significant number of personnel away from other calls for service in the county," Montgomery County Police Lt. Jeff Innocenti told News4.
In October alone, police responded to threats made to Albert Einstein High School, Montgomery Blair High School, Oakview Elementary School, Rockville High School, Silver Spring International School and Springbrook High School.
Montgomery Blair was threatened five times this month.
“It’s been a rough couple of weeks,” Robin Palmer, who has two children who attend Montgomery Blair, told News4.
Palmer said the constant threats have been unsettling for her family.
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“It’s a mixture of being scared and frustrated because we were pretty sure that they were hoaxes, but you can never make that assumption,” she said.
With the help of the school system's IT staff, detectives were able to link seven of the threats to a 12-year-old.
But police say, in this case, there’s not much that can be done when it comes punishment.
“The new law in Maryland states that anybody who's under the age of 13 can only be charged with a crime of violence, and in this case, that doesn’t qualify," Innocenti said.
Police said the 12-year-old was aware that they couldn't be charged.
"It is disheartening to accept that the individual responsible for disrupting the educational process and instilling fear in our community was well aware of the legal limitations surrounding their age," Police Chief Marcus Jones said in a statement Wednesday. "They understood that they could not be charged under current Maryland statutes."
“At the very least it’s disruptive, and at the most, it’s scary," Palmer said.
The Montgomery County Education Association said it's concerned about the threats, and they have caused a lot of stress and anxiety for teachers and students alike.
MCPS said it has counseling services available for students and staff who may have been affected by the recent threats.
