MCPD

12-Year-Old Identified as Individual Responsible for Multiple Bomb Threats

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Police released the following statement from Chief Marcus Jones regarding the person identified in school bomb threats (the statement by MCPD initially listed the incorrect high school, but has since been corrected):

“The person responsible for multiple bomb threats targeting Montgomery Blair High School and Oak View Elementary School has been identified. On October 13, 16, and 23, Montgomery County Public Schools received threats sent via email to Montgomery Blair High School. Similarly, on October 15, Oak View Elementary School was also targeted with a separate email threat. This reckless and dangerous behavior posed a direct threat to the safety and well-being of our schools and students.

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Kensington

MCPD Responding to Reported Bomb Threat at Albert Einstein High School

By Patrick Herron

11:05am UPDATE: Albert Einstein HS has been cleared. Students, faculty, and staff are returning to the building. Once Newport Mill Rd. is open, parents can reunite with their child at the main office of Albert Einstein HS. 

We will provide an update if additional information becomes available.

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Maryland

Governor Wes Moore Delivers Keynote Address at Maryland Minority Business Counts Event, Tours Coppin State University’s New College of Business

By Patrick Herron
Governor Moore Delivers Keynote Address at Maryland Minority Business Counts Event, Tours Coppin State University’s New College of Busines

Per the State of Maryland: Governor Wes Moore today delivered the keynote address at the Maryland Minority Business Counts “Engage and Elevate” event at Coppin State University. The governor was joined by Comptroller Brooke Lierman; Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson; and Maryland Department of General Services Secretary Atif Chaudhry. Also in attendance was Governor’s Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs Special Secretary Yolanda Maria Martinez; Greater Baltimore Urban League Chief Executive Officer Tiffany Majors; and Coppin State University President Dr. Anthony Jenkins, Ph.D.. Governor Moore spoke before hundreds of event attendees who gathered to promote state and municipal contracting opportunities and resources for minority owned businesses.

The Maryland Minority Business Counts initiative is a coalition of advocacy, business, civic, and community leaders dedicated to supporting and encouraging existing and future Black business owners across the state. Participants in today’s event had the opportunity to directly engage with state government agencies and attend panel discussions pertinent about doing business with the state.

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Education

MCPS: Brian Hull to Serve as Acting Superintendent While Dr. Monifa McKnight on Leave

By Patrick Herron

Montgomery County Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Brian Hull is currently acting superintendent while Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight is out on medical leave. According to a report by MoCo360, Dr. McKnight has been absent from the office the past week and sent MCPS staff the following message, “I have been dealing with a medical condition that required hospitalization. I am home now, getting better every day, and looking forward to getting back to the office.” No timeframe has been announced for McKnight’s return.

Hull became Chief Operating Officer of MCPS in August 2022. The Chief Operating Officer oversees and supports all aspects of District Operations, Finance, and Human Resources and Development. According to MCPS, “The mission of the Office of the Chief Operating Officer is to provide the highest quality business operations and support services that are essential to the educational success of students through staff committed to fiscal and operational excellence and continuous improvement.” We will provide an update if additional information becomes available.

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MoCo Athletics

MoCo’s Noah Bratschi Wins Silver Medal in Speed Climbing at 2023 Pan American Games

By MCS Staff

Montgomery County’s very own Noah Bratschi, a 2018 graduate of Churchill High School, has brought home the silver medal in Speed Climbing from the Pan American Games. Speed Climbing is a sport where athletes compete on identical routes with the goal of reaching the top of a 15m-high wall as quickly as possible.

Bratschi previously won the bronze medal at the 2021 International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) World Championship in Moscow, Russia to become the first American speed climber to win a World Championship medal in thirty years (since 1991). With that, he also became the first American to ever win a medal on the modern IFSC homologated speed climbing wall.

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Gaithersburg

Gaithersburg’s Public Works Crews Prepare for Season with “Snow Road-eo”

By MCS Staff

The “Snow Road-eo” returned Oct. 24, a team-building event is geared towards snow removal preparedness.

The City’ of Gaithersburg’s “Snow Road-eo” returned to the Activity Center at Bohrer Park on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. The team-building event is geared towards snow removal preparedness for the upcoming winter weather season.

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MoCo Government

Montgomery County’s Asian American Health Initiative’s Healthy Community Fund Awards $1.5 Million to Programs for the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community

By Patrick Herron

Per Montgomery County: “Montgomery County’s Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI), a program of the County’s Department of Health and Human Services, has awarded 14 local programs a total of $1.5 million from its Healthy Communities Fund. The funding will be used to develop new and sustain existing culturally and linguistically appropriate programs and services in behavioral health, senior wellness and health and social support services for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.

AAPI communities account for about 15 percent of Montgomery County’s overall population and the County is one of the most diverse communities in the United States, with more than 49 percent of population comprised of minorities. The AAPI community can be further broken down into multiple communities, each characterized by a unique mix of language, culture, religion and social norms. Because of the growing diversity and wide range of languages, cultures and socioeconomic status within AAPI communities, providing community health education, services and programs to residents of AAPI descent is more complex and requires custom approaches to reach the at-need communities.

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Crime

Update: Major Crimes Division Investigating Fatal Triple Shooting and Burglary; Identity of Victim Released 

By Patrick Herron

Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division are investigating a shooting that occurred on Monday, October 23, 2023. At approximately 10:57 p.m., 3rd District officers and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded to the 14300 block of Fairdale Rd., for the report of a burglary in progress. Upon arrival, officers located 22-year-old Rakiy Deinol Gardner, of an unknown address, outside of the residence, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. Despite lifesaving attempts, Gardner was pronounced dead at the scene.

A black Mercedes CLA 250 sedan was observed leaving the scene, at a high rate of speed, and collided with an officer responding to the scene in a marked patrol car. The driver of the Mercedes and the officer were transported to area hospitals for evaluation. A second male victim, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, was located a short distance from the scene and transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

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