Student Assaulted at Winston Churchill High School by Student From Walt Whitman High School

According to a letter sent to families and students of Winston Churchill High School, a female student of the school was assaulted on school property around 11:30 Wednesday morning. The incident occurred at the bus loop while students were on lunch break.

When a parent intervened, the assailant threatened the parent and another Churchill student with knife and then fled the property. The victim sustained minor injuries.

MyMCMedia reports that the suspect was identified as a 17-year-old male student from Walt Whitman High School who is now in Montgomery County Police custody.

Full letter from Churchill Principal John Taylor:

Winston Churchill High School Families and Community:

“I am writing to let you know about a serious incident that occured on Winston Churchill High School property today, Oct. 13. At approximately 11:35 while students were at lunch and returning after testing, an unknown assailant came onto the school property at the bus loop. This individual assaulted one of our Churchill students. When a parent intervened, the assailant threatened the parent and another Churchill student and then fled the property. 911 was called and members of the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) arrived to help us secure the area and investigate the incident.

Members of the administrative team, school staff and Security worked with MCPD to secure the building and assist with the safe arrival of our students from lunch. Thankfully, all of the Winston Churchill students are okay, and now home safe with their families. We entered into a Shelter-in-Place for the afternoon in order to notify staff and implement our emergency protocols to help secure the building. MCPD is conducting a full investigation and are confident they will apprehend the suspect, who they do NOT believe is a current or former Churchill student.

We will be implementing enhanced monitoring throughout the evening during activities and during dismissal, but all activities will continue as planned.

This is an unfortunate incident and we will work to implement safety protocols in conjunction with Montgomery County Public Schools Office of Safety and Security in order to ensure the ongoing safety of our students and staff. If you or your student has any information about this incident, please have them come to the main office and share with administration and security in order to support the investigation.”