Student detained at Blake High School for firearm possession, police say

Incident at Silver Spring school is latest of several involving guns in MCPS schools

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April 29, 2026 12:11 p.m. | Updated: April 29, 2026 12:12 p.m.

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A student was detained Wednesday at James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring after reportedly bringing a firearm to campus, Montgomery County police said in a social media post.

According to police, officers were dispatched at 11:29 a.m. to the school at 300 Norwood Road for a report of a student with a firearm.

Police said on social media that the gun was located and the student was detained. Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) placed the school on hold status, according to police.

When a school implements a hold status, students must clear the hallways and remain in a room or area until an “all clear” is announced, according to MCPS. Staff are required to close and lock classroom doors and account for all students and other adults, but classes should continue. The hold response is meant to be used to keep hallways clear during situations such as medical emergencies.

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MCPS didn’t immediately respond to requests for additional information on the status of the school on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s incident follows the detaining of a student Friday afternoon at Watkins Mill High School after reports of a student with a firearm sent the Gaithersburg school into a hold status, in which students were kept briefly in classrooms, according to social media posts from county police.

The firearm was allegedly located in the student’s backpack by school security, police said, and the student was detained. The school was placed on hold status for 20 minutes.

The hold on Friday follows another incident at Watkins Mill High on April 7 in which a student was detained for allegedly bringing a firearm to campus. A Gaithersburg High School student was also arrested in March for possession of a loaded handgun on school property.  

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Additionally, Friday’s incident comes more than two months after a 16-year-old boy was injured in a February shooting at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville. That incident resulted in an hours-long lockdown that shook the school community. Another 16-year-old student is facing an attempted murder charge in connection with the shooting.

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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine