The shooting in Joppa, Maryland, comes just four days into the school year and two days after another deadly school shooting in Georgia.
JOPPA, Md. (CN) — A 15-year-old boy was shot to death in a high school bathroom shortly after noon on Friday in Joppa, Maryland, sparking the school’s evacuation and a short manhunt before a 16-year-old suspect was arrested.
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said in an afternoon press conference that officials believe, Warren Curtis Grant and the shooter, who has not been named because of his age, were involved in an altercation before the shooting.
“I wish we were sitting here talking about a better outcome for the young man,” Gahler said.
The violence comes four days into the school year and two days after a Georgia student killed two classmates and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, reigniting the nation’s debate over gun violence. In that case, a 14-year-old has been charged as an adult, along with his father, who reportedly bought the gun for him as a gift.
Gahler, speaking to reporters, said school shootings are far too common.
“We all have the question. Why is a 16-year-old … what is the deal with this? How did he get his hands on this gun?” Gahler said according to the Baltimore Banner, an online nonprofit. “Very thankful this was not an active shooter incident. I pray we never have to test that system.”
In his statement, Gahler lamented a new state law that prevents police interrogations of juvenile suspects but said there was “overwhelming evidence” in the investigation.
Officials say they do not know yet how the weapon was brought into the school, which lacks metal detectors. Gahler said investigators have an idea of what kind of gun was used, and that he expects the teen to be charged quickly, possibly as soon as Saturday.
Gahler added that the suspect is known to law enforcement and police have previously responded to calls for service involving the teen.
“We’ve had more than 10 incidents since 2022 where this suspect was either the victim, witness or suspect,” he said.
“We’re just devastated to be a part of this awful group of schools that have experienced things like this,” Harford County Public Schools Superintendent Sean Bulson told a reporter for the local ABC News affiliate. “And we’re going to do everything we can, working with this community, to make sure this absolutely never happens again.”
School officials, including a nurse and a police resource officer, initially responded to the shooting and administered first aid to Grant before he was helicoptered to Johns Hopkins hospital. His death was announced two hours later at a second press conference.
After shooting Grant, the suspect fled the school and was “banging on doors” in the residential neighborhood before he was caught, Gahler said. The gun was not recovered.
Residents called 911 and soon more than 100 police had responded, blocking Joppa Farm Road and rerouting traffic away from the small riverside community about 18 miles northeast of downtown Baltimore.
The school, which serves about 1,000 students, was closed and parents were directed to a nearby church to reunite with their children as helicopters beat the air above them and social media feeds lit up with worried questions and rumors of an active shooter.
“Please be advised this is an isolated incident, not an active shooter,” the sheriff’s department posted on X, formerly Twitter, then. “Avoid the area. The reunification center for parents to pick up their students is Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church.”
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