Student carrying ghost gun arrested
Police say 17-year-old brought weapon to Meade High School
A 17-year-old student was arrested Tuesday after bringing a ghost gun to Meade High School.
Often sold in kits without serial numbers, ghost guns were the subject of several new regulations last year from the Maryland General Assembly. Expanding the state’s definition of a firearm to include unassembled frames and receivers, the law requires anyone buying those parts to submit to the same checks and requirements as someone buying a fully assembled weapon.
According to Anne Arundel Police, the Metropolitan Police Department contacted county authorities to report an armed subject on school property. The school’s assigned resource officer “quickly” identified the student “via video” and told police where the 17-year-old would often hang out after class.
Lt. Jacklyn Davis, a county police spokesperson, and Chad Jones, a spokesperson at Fort Meade, declined to comment on how Metropolitan police, which operates in Washington D.C., knew about the gun in Anne Arundel County. Jones confirmed that while jurisdiction at Fort Meade occasionally overlaps between county and federal officials, the Metropolitan Police Department does not have any jurisdiction in the fort.
Around 2:30 p.m., officers patrolling the area found the student near Annapolis and Ridge roads, where they discovered he was carrying a Polymer 80 “ghost” handgun and approximately 320 grams of suspected marijuana. When confronted by officers, the 17-year-old “passively” resisted arrest and was carried into a police vehicle, according to a news release.
Davis said the student reported being injured by officers but “refused treatment” from responding fire department personnel.
Davis said no threats were reported at the school.
Wednesday’s incident comes just over a month after a 12-yearold student brought a handgun to
MacArthur Middle School, approximately one mile from Meade High School. At the time, in a since-deleted social media post, the Anne Arundel Police Department criticized recent reforms to Maryland’s juvenile justice system barring children younger than 13 from being charged and prosecuted for most offenses.
Sen. Jill Carter, a Baltimore Democrat, has repeatedly rejected police’s claims that they are unable to assist offending youth. This year, she is sponsoring a bill that would require intake officers to file a Child in Need of Supervision, or CINS request for any child under the age of 10 who is somehow involved in another person’s death.
Once a CINS request is submitted to the Department of Juvenile Services, an intake officer meets with youth and guardians to discuss appropriate interventions for the child’s specific needs. Currently, law enforcement officers can file a CINS request directly with the department, though at their own discretion.