Two students at Milford Mill Academy high school in Woodlawn were victims of a BB gun shooting Tuesday morning in the boys? locker room and taken to Northwest Hospital for minor injuries, according to Baltimore County police.
At approximately 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, a 14-year-old male student was hit in the center of the forehead by a small pellet and another boy, 15, was shot in the back, at the base of the neck.
Police said both pellets penetrated the students? skin and caused bleeding, but were not sure if the pellets were still lodged when the students were taken to the hospital.
The school was put on lockdown after the shooting, with students required to stay in their homerooms until the end of second period.
Police questioned possible suspects and witnesses, but had not made any arrests or recovered the weapon as of Tuesday evening.
“We?re still trying to figure out a motive,” said Sgt. Vickie Warehime, a community resource officer at the school. “It?s an isolated incident, not a random act. It was a targeted shooting. We?re not sure if the suspect ? or suspects ? go to the school or not.”
Criminal charges likely will include first-degree assault, a felony, and bringing a deadly weapon on school grounds.
Dozens of parents left jobs and drove to the school to remove their children after learning of the attack.
“We?re trying to control the rumor mill, let people know it was [a] BB gun involved, and students and faculty are OK,” Baltimore County school spokesman Charles Herndon said. “We?re about the business of teaching, and we?re going to get on with the school day.”
Most students interviewed described the school as safe, but several said they knew of weapons previously being brought into the school.
“I?ve seen kids bring weapons into the school before, but not get caught,” said Terence Bright, a 16-year old junior, as he left the school property with his mother.
Bright and others said damage remained visible in the boys locker room after an arson fire set last year by a student.
Parents arriving and leaving the scene had difficulty finding out exactly what had happened and had trouble connecting with their children, who they said were told not to use their cell phones.
“It?s chaotic in there,” said Theresa Wright, a parent and an MTA bus driver, who took half a day off from work to pick up her son. “They have everybody crammed into one room, and you can?t find anything out. My son called me, and I?m glad he did. He said he didn?t feel safe.”
