Shooting in Maryland high school leaves one dead

Last week, just two days after the shooting at Apalachee High School, a shooting took place at Joppatowne High School, in Joppatowne, Maryland. 15-year-old Warren Curtis Grant was shot once in one of the school’s bathrooms. Grant was airlifted to a hospital, where he later died from his injuries.

The 16-year-old suspect, who was later identified as Jaylen Rushawn Prince, fled the school but was later apprehended minutes later in a local apartment complex, where he was allegedly trying to break into an apartment. However, in that time, the suspect was allegedly able to dispose of the gun, which police have yet to find. While police believe they know what kind of gun was used in the shooting, they do not know how the suspect obtained the weapon.

Prince has been charged as an adult with murder, first and second-degree assault, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony/crime of violence. He is also being held without bail.

The suspect was said to be known to police in at least ten other matters since 2022 where he had either been a victim, witness or suspect.

Investigators have also said that Grant and Prince were familiar with each other prior to the shooting. The shooting is believed to have stemmed from an argument in the bathroom before Prince took the gun from his backpack and shot Warren Grant.

Joppatowne High does not have metal detectors, but as I’ve pointed out before, even security experts say that metal detectors are not the solution some think they are. For metal detectors to really work at their top efficiency, each student would need to be screened like the TSA does at airports. That would be a logistical nightmare for most schools.

An armed school resource officer was on duty but did not hear the shooting take place. Again, it really is a gamble on whether armed security in school can prevent shootings. More often than not, they don’t, and SROs often make schools a less friendly environment than they already are.

When investigators searched the suspect’s home, they found ammunition of the same brand and type used in the shooting.

Sad to say, there are still people who still have the ‘it can’t happen here’ mindset. One Joppatowne resident was quoted as saying…

“I graduated from that high school, I never thought in a million years something like that would happen. That’s just disgusting. That type of thing doesn’t happen here in Joppatowne, never ever.”

Littleton, Colorado and Uvalde, Texas were also places where people thought it couldn’t happen there either.

It doesn’t matter how quaint, quiet, or safe your town or city seems to be. The scourge of gun violence is a cancer that’s spreading through our country and infecting every last cell and molecule of our nation.

(Sources)

• Sheriff: Student shot at Joppatowne High School dies at hospital, teenager in custody
• 15-year-old boy fatally shot by fellow student in Maryland high school bathroom
• 15-year-old shot and killed in Maryland high school bathroom, 16-year-old student in custody
• Student killed in Joppatowne High School shooting, alleged gunman arrested
• Judge deems Joppatowne High School shooting suspect’s release significant risk to public, denies bail