17 year old Solomon Henderson was charged on Tuesday, December 5 for bringing an unloaded handgun to Montgomery County’s Springbrook High School in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Shortly after 10:30 in the morning, the school received a report that indicated Henderson might be in possession of a weapon on school grounds.
Security and staff personnel worked promptly with the Student Resource Officer (SRO) and conducted a search of Henderson’s belongings. They found a unloaded .40 caliber gun and an empty magazine in his school bag.
Henderson was arrested and taken to the Central Processing Unit by the SRO. Although there was not any known harm conducted on students at the school, Henderson has been charged with the possession of a handgun, possession of a firearm by a person under the age of 21, and the possession of a gun on school property. The gun was legally purchased and registered under the name of Henderson’s father.
“This illegal and dangerous behavior will not be tolerated in our school community. Weapons of any type are not permitted on or near school property. Any student caught with a weapon will be referred to law enforcement and punished accordingly,” Dr. Williams, the principal of Springbrook High School said.
While authorities are still uncertain over why Henderson brought the gun to school, police believe he had no intention of hurting school faculty or students.
Through all this havoc, Dr. Williams commends the staff and SRO for being vigilant and quickly dealing with this situation. He has sent out a letter of reassurance to the community.
“Ensuring the safety of every student at Springbrook is a top priority and a responsibility that I take very seriously. I appreciate your support as we work to maintain a safe and secure environment for our school community,” Dr. Williams said.
“The school administrators and the security staff worked very well with the SRO, the SRO worked with them,” said Montgomery County Police Captain Tom Jordan. “They coordinated their response and they were able to get that handgun out of the students bag without any problems. So that is good and it is a concerted effort. It is a team effort.”
The investigation regarding this incident remains ongoing, with Montgomery County Police looking for more information regarding this incident.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Emily Zhang of Churchill High School