Police charge Whitman High student as adult for allegedly bringing loaded weapon to school

Incident occurred after altercation at Westfield Montgomery Mall

May 13, 2026 6:17 p.m.

Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. Photo credt: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A 16-year-old student at Walt Whitman High School is facing several weapons charges after allegedly bringing a loaded gun to the Bethesda campus following an altercation at Westfield Montgomery mall, according to a Wednesday statement from police.

While the boy is being charged as an adult and has therefore been named by police, Bethesda Today is not identifying because he is a minor.

Officers were dispatched to the mall at 7101 Democracy Blvd. on Wednesday around noon for the report of an altercation involving groups of teenagers from two high schools, police said in the release. During the altercation, police said one of the teens allegedly showed a handgun.

Walter Johnson High School and Northwood High are the two closest public high schools to Westfield Montgomery Mall, at about 1 mile away and 2.6 miles away respectively. Whitman is about 5.5 miles from the mall.

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Officers identified the boy with the gun as a student at Whitman and contacted the school’s principal and security staff. They located the student and removed him from his class. A search of the students’ backpack allegedly revealed a loaded 9mm Ruger handgun with an “obliterated serial number” and a magazine, police said.

The student was taken into custody by police and has been charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school property, possession of a firearm by a minor, illegal possession of ammunition, carrying a handgun on person, possession of firearm with serial number obliterated, illegal possession of a regulated firearm and loaded handgun on person. He is being held in the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, according to police.

No information concerning the student’s attorney was available as of Wednesday afternoon.

Wednesday’s arrest follows several arrests of students for allegedly bringing guns to schools, including one in March in Gaithersburg High and two in April at Watkins Mill High in Gaithersburg. No one was injured in those incidents.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine