Maryland School Shooting: Teen Faces Attempted Murder Charge

A 17-year-old was being held without bond Saturday on charges including attempted second-degree murder in connection with the shooting of a fellow student at a high school in a Maryland suburb of the nation’s capital, authorities said.

The suspect, Steven Alston Jr., was taken into custody about two hours after officers were called to Magruder High School in Rockville on Friday afternoon and is facing charges as an adult, Montgomery County police said.

A police news release said Saturday that Alston also is facing a charge of first-degree assault and three weapons-related counts. The Associated Press does not normally identify juveniles charged with offenses but is doing so because police named Alston and said he is facing prosecution on serious charges as an adult.

Police said school security found a 15-year-old male student in a bathroom with a gunshot wound after Friday’s shooting. The wounded student, a 10th grader who hasn’t been identified, underwent surgery at a hospital and was in critical condition Saturday, the news release said.

Police said officers on Friday afternoon found Alston in a classroom and a gun recovered at the school was believed to have been used in the shooting.

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said Friday it wasn’t clear what led to the shooting.

Saturday’s news release said there’s no evidence suggesting the suspect, who is in the 11th grade, was targeting anyone else within the school of about 1,700 students. The shooting led to an hourslong lockdown before authorities deemed the school safe and dismissed students Friday.

There was nothing available Saturday afternoon about Alston’s case on a searchable database of Maryland court records. An email to the State’s Attorney’s Office requesting information about Alston’s attorney wasn’t immediately returned.