Declining Sense of Campus Security

Safety around school grounds has always been a top priority for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). Following an increasing amount of violent incidents, criticism began to rise regarding the effectiveness of current security protocols. 

On Feb. 9, 2026, a student shot and injured another student inside Thomas S. Wootton High School. The 16-year-old suspect was charged with attempted second-degree murder. “I feel that it could have been prevented. The communication between the students and the staff wasn’t great, and the teachers assumed [the suspect] was just skipping class,” Wootton junior Liza Mirny said. 

According to Mirny, the atmosphere around campus changed drastically after that day. Students lost their trust in the security staff and find themselves holding their breath every time the intercom sounds. “It brings us straight back to that moment,” she said. 

The incident sparked a heated countrywide debate over school safety and the prevention of such violent breakouts and threats from both outside forces and possible dangers from within the building. The permanent presence of school resource officers (SROs) was also debated but an agenda enforcing the position has not been yet placed in action. 

A separate incident regarding safety control from within the building took place on Sept. 3, 2026 at Colonel Zadok Magruder High School. A 15-year-old student was found in possession of a BB gun after injuring an MCPS administrator and security staff. The student was charged with first and second degree assault and was directly taken under police custody. 

These events led to greater opposition to the newly enforced “away all day” policy regarding keeping cellphones, earbuds, watches and all electronic devices stored away from the first bell to the last. High schoolers express that having their phones in an event of an emergency gives them a small sense of control in a situation that is out of their hands. It can also be argued  that it should be their given right to contact their families if a real crisis occurs, and claim that current school grounds are simply not safe enough to be phone-free. 

On October twenty first, 2026, Walter Johnson High School was placed on “secure” status after reported gunshots were heard near campus. Surrounding Bethesda-area schools including Tilden Middle School, North Bethesda Middle School and Luxmanor Elementary School also followed the protocol and remained so for the next 40 minutes. Four individuals were taken into custody from the scene before students were let out of the classrooms. “I just wanted to let my parents know I was alright. But I wasn’t allowed to access my phone in the classroom,” Walter Johnson senior Mili Gladstone said. 

Educators from the school have additional concerns regarding the event. Walter Johnson mathematics teacher Steven Kerr was teaching in his fifth period Algebra 2 class when the secure status was called on the intercom. “Secure status means that there isn’t a threat directly in the building but rather outside. We locked the door and closed the windows but continued with the lesson,” Kerr said. 

According to Kerr, there are not many extra measures that the school can take other than following the existing protocols. He suggests any additional safety implementations taken by the school would not solve the matter as the issue is deeply rooted in legislation. To permanently be addressed, he states gun control laws are the only definitive way to make a difference. 

These recurring instances of violence on school grounds have immensely altered the way students feel around campus and the amount of trust they have for the system to protect them. The occurrence of such events can ultimately shift the way in which students view their schools from a place meant to develop their education into a place which endangers their safety.

Written by Ofer Papier

Graphic by Oviyaa Ramesh