Maryland Student Arrested for High School Mass Shooting Threat, US

A Maryland student has been arrested after police say he threatened to shoot up his high school and former elementary school. Alex Ye, 18, of Rockville, is alleged to have written a chilling 129-page manifesto detailing plans to gun down his classmates at Thomas S Wootton High School, and his former elementary school. He was arrested on 17 April and charged with threat of mass violence, a misdemeanour crime punishable by up to 10 years in jail. Ye is being held without bond, and a trial date is set for 3 June. Authorities say they were first alerted to Ye’s plan by a friend who had been given access to the man’s manifesto. During a probe of the student’s search history, officials discovered he’d looked up gun ranges near me, minimum age to enter a gun range, what counts as a terroristic threat, obtained written and verbal descriptions of AR-15s, and looked for a book about a student planning a shooting. Montgomery County Police Department Chief Marcus Jones said that Ye had written about wanting to shoot up his former elementary school because little kids make easier targets and that he wanted to become a serial killer instead of a mass murderer because serial killers are romanticised a lot more. Authorities took action after concerns were raised by a friend and information provided about Ye’s online activities which included searches about mass shootings on Discord. In light of the incident, the state’s gun laws were cited as potentially preventing a tragedy. Everytown for Gun Safety ranks Maryland eighth in the nation for gun law strength. County Executive Marc Elrich highlighted how the difficulty in obtaining guns may have prevented the suspect from carrying out his plans. The case underscores the importance of vigilance and the potential of existing laws to curb acts of violence.