On June 23, Hyattsville police arrested a Northwestern High School student with a loaded ghost gun on campus. Ghost guns have no serial number, which makes them untraceable; they can be purchased online and assembled at home.
According to a Hyattsville City Police Department (HCPD) press release, a Northwestern student notified an HCPD school resource officer about a male student with a gun inside the school. Officers quickly located a 16-year-old ninth grader outside Northwestern with a Polymer80 ghost gun in his possession. Northwestern school administrators placed the school on temporary lockdown during a search for two other persons of interest. June 23 was the last day of classes for Northwestern; no one was reported injured during the incident.
The teenager was placed in police custody and initially charged as an adult with four misdemeanors: carrying a handgun, carrying a handgun on school property, carrying a loaded handgun and possessing a regulated firearm when under 21 years of age, according to the press release.
Maryland law currently requires juveniles 16 years old or older to be automatically charged as adults for certain categories of crime, including firearms crimes, assault and kidnapping. The law also allows some charged youth to request transfer from the adult criminal court to the juvenile system.
Earlier this year, on April 25, HCPD officers responded to reports of gunshots at the Northwestern football field. According to the HCPD, police found evidence that shots had been fired; no injuries or property damage were reported.
