Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the honorable Judge David Boynton ruled defendant, Steven Alston, will be tried as an adult. The 17-year-old is facing attempted first-degree murder and other charges for the shooting inside Magruder High School on January 21st, 2022 that wounded a fellow student, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office. He faces more than 100 years in prison if convicted. According to charging documents, “Alston advised he took the handgun to school because he was worried he was going to get jumped.”
Alston was apprehended in a classroom in school after the incident took place and while the school was in lockdown. A privately manufactured firearm (ghost gun) was found nearby inside the school, which is believed to be the gun used by Alston. Police Chief Marcus Jones noted at a press conference that there were several students in the bathroom at the time of the shooting, and nobody called 9-1-1.