Students return to Blake High School a day after shooting

SILVER SPRING, Md. - Less than 24 hours after a shooting outside Blake High School, students are preparing to return to class Thursday under tighter security.

School staff will report on time, but students won’t arrive until 10:45 a.m. to give the community time to decompress, according to FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick. Extra counselors will be on campus to support students throughout the day.

Video of the incident spread quickly on social media. Police say the confrontation began around 11:29 a.m., when school security and the community resource officer were flagged down to break up a fight in the parking lot. They detained a 19‑year‑old and recovered a handgun that had been dropped.

Minutes later, authorities learned a teen had arrived at White Oak Medical Center with a gunshot wound. The school was placed on "hold" status while officers ensured the campus was safe and that there was no ongoing threat.

READ MORE: 'Unwelcome, uninvited adult' on Blake HS campus leads to fight, shooting: 1 detained

Superintendent Thomas Taylor said the incident was instigated by an unwelcome, uninvited adult who came onto school property.

Parents told FOX 5 they felt the school system kept them well‑informed, but the shooting adds to growing concerns about safety. Last week, police found a gun at Watkins Mill High School in Gaithersburg. In February, a student was shot at Wootton High School in Rockville.

The school system is piloting a camera‑based weapons detection system, though officials say they do not yet have enough data to evaluate it.

A community engagement officer was on site during Wednesday’s incident, but officers are no longer assigned inside each school. Instead, they rotate among clusters of schools. Council Member Andrew Friedson has called for a return to the traditional school resource officer model.