An eighth-grade boy brought a handgun to Oklahoma Road Middle School yesterday morning and fired a single shot in a school bathroom in an apparent suicide attempt, police said.
No one was hurt in the incident at the Eldersburg school, authorities said.
The boy, 13, took his father's .44-caliber revolver from a locked box at home and brought the gun to school in a backpack, said Maj. Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman.
The boy fired the handgun about 10 a.m. in an empty boys' bathroom while pupils at the school were between classes, police said.
A female teaching assistant who heard the noise asked a male instructor to investigate. That teacher found the boy seated on the floor in a bathroom stall with the gun in his backpack, Shipley said.
The teacher walked the boy to the office, where administrators called police and the school system's security and crisis staff.
"There wasn't ever any threat to the other kids," said Donald Pyles, the school system's middle schools director.
Police found a fired bullet in the bathroom and a hole in the lower portion of a metal stall partition. They also found the revolver in the boy's backpack and a suicide note, Shipley said.
"Students were informed everything was OK and that the situation was under control," Shipley said, adding that there was no indication that the boy brought the gun to school to harm anyone there.
The boy was taken to Carroll County General Hospital, where he was expected to remain last night.
Police said juvenile weapons-related charges against the youth were pending.
Principal Catherine E. Hood sent a letter home with children to give to their parents, briefly letting them know what had happened and informing them of support services at school for pupils who might need help coping with the incident.
Hood did not return a phone call yesterday afternoon. School spokeswoman Carey Gaddis referred questions about the incident to the state police.
Larry Faries, the school system's security coordinator, said he could not comment because of "an active police investigation."
In her letter to parents, Hood wrote: "Our school staff responded immediately and all appropriate procedures were taken to ensure the safety of all students. The Maryland State Police and other community resources were contacted and handled the investigation. I can assure you that we are handling all aspects of the situation in a professional manner."
Arlene Gioia, whose son is a sixth-grader at Oklahoma Road Middle, said she was worried that a student could bring a weapon into school in a backpack.
"It's a great school, but they've got to do something about that," she said. "At this point, they probably should have metal detectors. ... You can't tell if you have one troubled child."
