By Adam Pagnucco.
Yesterday, I reported that the principals of three MCPS schools – Odessa Shannon MS, Kennedy HS and Wheaton HS – had sent a notice to parents of a “gun-involved incident” on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 3 without further details. Last night, the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) sent out this press release on a shooting in Glenmont at the same time:
*****
Two Juveniles Charged in Connection to Glenmont Shooting
For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 5, 2024
Gaithersburg, MD – A 15-year-old male and 13-year-old male are being charged with multiple charges of first-degree assault following a shooting on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, in Wheaton-Glenmont.
At approximately 3:36 p.m., 4th District officers were dispatched to a shooting in progress in the 2300 block of Glenmont Circle.
Through the course of the investigation, detectives determined a confrontation amongst the 15-year-old and 13-year-old suspects and several juvenile victims occurred. During this confrontation, a handgun was displayed, the victims ran away and the suspects chased after them.
A short time later, a vehicle was in the area of the 2300 block of Glenmont Cir. when the 15-year-old suspect shot at the vehicle occupants. The two occupants of the vehicle were uninjured.
The suspects were identified, located, and taken into custody. Shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Both suspects are currently in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Services.
*****
I was able to obtain two dispatch audios which may be relevant to the incident that are embedded below.
The first dispatch audio, dated at 3:37 PM on Tuesday, discusses a “possible shooting” in the area of 2312 Glenmont Circle. This street is directly behind the 4th District police station. The dispatcher said, “Callers are reporting two people shooting each other with firearms.” The two callers disagreed on the details.
The second dispatch audio was dated at 5:13 PM on Tuesday. The dispatcher said, “There are two separate shootings, two separate sets of victims, however the shooters, the suspects that we have in custody, are going to be the same for the two events. So we’re going to end up splitting this into two different CR numbers, however the same suspects.”
Did this second dispatch audio reference the same incident as the first?
Yesterday, I contacted MCPD’s communications office and asked for information about the incident reported by the principals. The office told me to file a Maryland Public Information Act request so I did so. This occurred before MCPD’s press release was published. The email exchange is shown below.
I am the parent of a student at one of these schools. I am displeased that I was told to file a Maryland Public Information Act request, which under state law may take up to 30 days to answer, in order to obtain meaningful information about a “gun-related incident” relevant to my kid’s school. An incident of this kind deserves more discussion with the public.
I have asked MCPD’s communications office whether the incident in the press release is related to the incident reported by the MCPS principals. I hope we learn more about what transpired in coming days.