Report of shooting at or near wootton

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I am watching the news. Dismissal seems like a cluster. Why are they trying to move them to Frost?

Probably because police want Wootton building evacuated but want reunification to have access to indoors because it's cold

But they've said no threat to the public. I just don't understand how it can be this unorganized.

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

They can block that hallway off. It's not rocket science to line children up and reunite the with parents.

Children do not want to immediately reenter a school where someone was shot.

Are you watching it at all? They have been in the school for almost 3 hours at this point. MCPS has texted go to frost, don't to frost, go to frost...

[Anonymous]

Of course we're lacking a lot of details at this point, but if you'd like to have SROs back in schools, at least make sure not to vote for those who were against it.

It was Jawando who introduced legislation to ban SROs:
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2021/20210204/20210204_1.pdf

He's on the ballot this year, running for County Exec.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:And of course we don’t need resource officers or police in the schools because that is more dangerous 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️
Shame on Montgomery County for continuing to destroy things. Make our kids feel safe in school and stop worrying about discrimination.

Our schools do have officers. Wootton has a full time SRO.

An SRO or a CEO? They are somewhat different, and I thought MCPS got rid of the SROs about 5 years ago. The purpose of a SRO is that they were specially trained to deal with you, and embedded into the school. The idea was that they would build specific relationships within the school and so would be more likely to know if a specific kid has beef with another kid, something brewing that might turn violent, one kid that is known to be troubled or dealing or whatever. It's hard with 3000 kids and one SRO, but the idea itself is sound and has in the past been an effective violence disruptor because kids will come to the SRO and anonymously alert them to an problem.
I personally think the schools need more security officers (probably double what they currently have) and more SROs (maybe 2-4 per school for these monstrously large schools with additional training for the SROs and more opportunity for them to engage positively with the student body, e.g., guest speakers in the health and government classes).

I think the evidence is that SROs are not very effective at stopping the Uvalde type shooters (because those shooters are suicidal and assume they will get taken out), but are decently effective a taking the in-school drug dealing and regular teen violence and pushing it outside the school property. That may push it to the parking lot of a Target, or a public park or an apartment building or whatever, but at least it allows kids that want to go to school in peace to do so.

I've been skeptical of metal detectors because they don't seem practical with 3000 students coming in every morning and also because the security guards I know that work metal detectors said they are actually kind of hard to operate -- you have to be particularly skilled in figuring out what you're looking at, and I just don't think that it's realistic for MCPS to implement this -- plus people would just prop a door and sneak it in the back, and kids are in and out all day long for DE and portable classrooms, etc. Maybe I'm wrong on this, but it just doesn't seem like a real solution.

The official title is CEO. However that was just to appease people so that they could say there are no SROs in schools…. They changed the name from SRO to CEO.
They’ve always been in the schools.
Rockville City has 2 full time CEOs. One assigned to RM and one to Wootton.

CEOs cannot walk the hallways without the Principal's say so, unlike SROs.

I think the differences go beyond this. I read the various agreements many years ago. But I think it would be really helpful for parents to understand the differences between the two programs and what is done in other school jurisdictions as well. It's really opaque and I think most parents don't really understand the programs.

MCPS also has security guards. It doesn't matter what you call them but they need at least 2-3 times as many as 4-6 is not enough in these large schools and campuses. I have kids at two different high schools. Each has a police officer outside in their car during the day (or not in the car sometimes when they are handling things).

[Anonymous]

https://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail_Pol.aspx?Item_ID=48231

Summary of Events: Thomas J. Wootton High School Shooting
For Immediate Release: Monday, February 9, 2026

The following is a brief summary of events regarding a shooting at Thomas J. Wootton High School.



At approximately 2:15 p.m., Montgomery County Department of Police 1st District officers and Rockville City Police were dispatched the school for a reported shooting.

The first arriving officers located the victim in a hallway inside of the school.

The student victim was found with one gunshot wound and transported to an area hospital in stable condition.

The suspect, also a student, was quickly identified and arrested a short time later near the school. At this time, there is no further threat to public safety.

Students remain inside of the school and are expected to be released shortly.

All students who ride a bus will take their regular routes home. Parents of bus riders are asked not to come to the school.

The reunification location for non-bus riders is Robert Frost Middle School, 9201 Scott Drive.

A media briefing is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the intersection of Hurley Avenue and Wootton Pkwy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course we're lacking a lot of details at this point, but if you'd like to have SROs back in schools, at least make sure not to vote for those who were against it.

It was Jawando who introduced legislation to ban SROs:
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/col/2021/20210204/20210204_1.pdf

He's on the ballot this year, running for County Exec.

He needs to be removed from any county position.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Did Frost go into lockdown or did the middle school have regular dismissal?

Frost was in lockdown, and Lakewood too. But now students can leave (take bus or pick up by parents ), can't walk.

So was Ridgeview, which is not very close to Wootton.

?

[Anonymous]

After Sandy Hook, I made my peace that anything will change in the country as a whole regarding school security.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After Sandy Hook, I made my peace that anything will change in the country as a whole regarding school security.

I'm not at peace with it. It makes me angry.
https://theonion.com/no-way-to-prevent-this-says-only-nation-where-this-r-1848971668/
No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
Published:
May 25, 2022

The Onion has reused this article 22 times for mass shootings

[Anonymous]

Why is it taking so long to dismiss the students if the suspect has already been arrested? Why is the reunification process so slow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Horrifying how many children and school staff are traumatized on the regular because this country cannot agree to commonsense gun safety. It makes me so sick. I dread telling my kids about this but of course have to otherwise they’ll hear it from someone else. The madness must stop. Praying for all those injured physically and emotionally.

Yes, you need to talk to your kids because they will hear all kinds of stuff on social media and from their friends who heard from a friend...

It's a scary and unpleasant conversation, but it needs to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wootton has been crazy for awhile now. Over 50 staff left over the summer - new principal, half of assistant principals, the head of security, the head of special education, most of counseling, and so many teachers. There was the inadequate handling of racist events. Now this. When is central office going to give Wootton the support they obviously need?

No, they’re going to close Wootton and send their kids to Gaithersburg. Obviously Wootton is being unfairly targeted by MCPS for some DEI agenda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it taking so long to dismiss the students if the suspect has already been arrested? Why is the reunification process so slow?

Because you can't be sure the suspect is really the suspect, and the sole perp. Every student needs to be vetted, and every room cleared as safe one-by-one.

[Anonymous]

What a sad way to be remembered in it’s final days as a school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After Sandy Hook, I made my peace that anything will change in the country as a whole regarding school security.

Or gun control
I am not at all at peace with it though.

[Anonymous]

Awful, completely awful.