This article has been edited to reflect the uncertainty of the ongoing investigation.

I was walking out of school when I received the text from my Mom.

Did you hear about the Wootton shooting?

Stunned, I stopped in my tracks and went straight to the internet. It was only a few hours after the incident, but over a dozen articles were already circulating. Social media erupted. Livestreams began. The event made national headlines.

On Monday, Feb. 9, around 2:15 PM EST, a student at Thomas S. Wootton High School was shot. The incident occurred at a high school right next to RM, a place of learning that is supposed to be safe and secure.

As I reached out to people at Wootton, the reactions were shocking. Although my friends felt upset or scared at first, it no longer showed. In fact, the majority seemed to remain unfazed. Some even played “Try Not to Laugh” challenges using Instagram reels.

It was as if these incidents were inevitable, and the Wootton shooting was just another event in a normal day. “A few years ago there was a shooting at Magruder High School, which was the first one in Montgomery County and people were much more concerned. Now it’s almost like this is becoming a routine,’” a Wootton student, (who will be referred to by their first initial, S for privacy reasons), said.

In prior years, Wootton also received numerous bomb threats.

Just as they were about to be dismissed, Wootton students were brought into lockdown, where they remained for hours. Students hid and stayed silent, frantically texting their parents. “As soon as the announcement came on, there were people crying… rumors were flying across the class. I was standing in this corner, and there’s a girl next to me and she was literally shaking,” ‘S’ said.

Wootton freshman Linh Nguyen also added that armed police officers entered classrooms without warning in order to keep the situation under control and ensure safety. Flashlights were attached to their guns.

“In that moment, I realized the situation was more serious than I thought,” she said.

One teacher, who was hiding under her desk alone, was approached by those officers. She stood up with a gun pointed at her while answering questions.

The incident was identified as a targeted one, the result of an altercation involving multiple individuals. Police stated that earlier in the same day, the shooter also pointed his weapon at a 15-year old girl. The alleged shooter is being charged as an adult, and the victim is stable after being shot in the chest and taken to the hospital.

In a statement to NBC Washington, another Wootton student reported that “everyone was afraid at first” because they did not know whether or not the incident was a mass shooting. “You see this on the news all the time but you never expect it to be your own child’s school,” a Wootton mother said.

Afterward, students were escorted by security to Robert Frost Middle School for family reunification, in what parents described as a confusing and frustrating process.

“Most people didn’t leave home until 10 pm,” Nyugen said.

Wootton High School opened at normal times on Tuesday, though absences for students were excused for both Tuesday and Wednesday. “I think it’s important to restore stability. If people are left to dwell on what happened for too long, it can exacerbate anxieties that are present… and as a parent, I thought ‘well my kid can either go to school, be with people who can support and relate to her, or scroll at home and let her thoughts ruminate,’” Wootton parent Uchenna Alexander said.

Other community members felt the abrupt return was apathetic and ignorant.

Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor reported that attendance on Tuesday was around 40 percent. During the day, students engaged in bonding or wellness activities rather than academic work. Schools around the county made announcements or wore Wootton’s colors in support.

Still, one message remained clear: something must be done. With each time a teacher locks the door, turns off lights and tells their students to remain silent, gun violence takes another step toward becoming a new, desensitizing routine engulfing our schools. It is an issue that we must end now.

A Complex Issue

Gun violence is tied to three key things: poor policies, weak solutions and ignoring root causes.

Montgomery County reports identified the firearm used during the Wootton shooting as a Polymer80 9-millimeter handgun. The Polymer80 is a ghost gun, meaning it is untraceable, and its parts can be assembled at home. As of Tuesday, Feb. 10, authorities confiscated the weapon.

According to Security.org, there were over 230 school shootings in 2025, not counting those in universities. In fact, California alone had more school shootings in one year than most countries (beside the United States) combined.

Under current legislation, it is concerningly easy for a student to obtain a gun and bring it into a building. Over 66 million American households currently own at least one gun, with hundreds of thousands being entered into the illegal market each year. In most cases, school shooters can easily access these guns from family, or purchase them privately, hidden from the law.

“I think that this country is way too relaxed with its gun regulations, and it really bothers me. People talk about Second Amendment rights, and I think the Second Amendment was meant for the time and the place in which it was written, and this is not that time nor place,” Alexander said.

Not only do our laws cause these problems, but schools are yet to implement solutions. Less than 10 percent of American public schools use metal detectors, clear backpacks or other mechanisms to identify a weapon in the building.

At the moment, there are no schools in MCPS that have metal or weapon detection systems. “I think what [MCPS] should do… is… search all the bags of all the students who are coming to the school,” Wootton parent Samuel Aze said.

“I think that our schools need to detect weapons coming in. We need to make sure that our schools are as safe as possible,” Wootton PTSA President Brian Rabin added.

In 2021, the Montgomery County Council made a controversial decision to remove School Resource Officers (SROs) from Montgomery County public schools, instead replacing them with a Community Engagement Officer (CEO) program. CEOs are temporary, and do not serve directly inside schools, nor do they  enforce school policies/regulations.

In the wake of the shooting, many parents (and students) have called for the SRO’s return.

Digging Deeper

Beyond issues solely surrounding guns, we have to look at underlying issues. Across the board, mental health is identified as a root cause of gun violence. A recent study found that over 92 percent of K-12 school shooters were found to be suicidal before/during the shooting, exhibit antisocial behavior and/or dealt with childhood trauma.

Yet, not nearly enough is being done to address this.

According to a study from JAMA Network Open, during the 2024-2025 school year, only 30.5 percent of American public schools required mental health screening, and less than half of schools in 2024 reported being equipped to deal with student mental health needs.

Early reports and Wootton students explained that the 16 year-old shooter was often isolated or bullied at school.

Online, the victim’s mother spoke out, saying that her son too was a victim of poor mental health and had unsuccessfully tried  to transfer him to another school. “[My son] expressed to me…that he had experienced bullying. I talked to administration about these concerns…and their reasoning  was, ‘well nothing has transpired yet,’” said the mother.

Though violence is never the answer, hurt people hurt people. Students who are struggling in silence, struggling at home, or crying for help do not deserve a blind eye turned to them. Whether it’s adding more psychologists, using anonymous form check ins, or simply communicating what resources are available to students, communities must take the initiative to prioritize well-being. People need to see the coping mechanisms available that don’t include pulling a trigger.

Social media is also a contributor to poor mental health outcomes and isolation. “When things like this happen, there are victims that stretch throughout. One could say that every student in Montgomery County [is a victim],” City of Rockville Councilmember Adam Van Grack said.

In this case, it wasn’t just the shooter in the wrong.

We need to be applying the bandages – the clear backpacks, the trained security guards, the technology. But what good are these if we don’t also treat the wounds underneath?

Moving Forward

On Tuesday, Montgomery County held two meetings to address concerns. Frustration and sadness boiled amongst parents when they recalled events and no Q&A was held. When considering steps forward, the superintendent stated that “everything is on the table.”

Although progress is in the works, significant work remains. Instead of trying to ban phones in unsafe environments, or introduce boundary studies that cause more stress and uncertainty, MCPS must prioritize the issue at hand.

“I just hope this never happens again,” parent Linda Keita said. Instead of practicing where to hide, it’s time to prevent the need for the drill.

Lives depend on it.