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This month, administrators received emailed threats targeting Montgomery Blair High School on five separate occasions, as well as Oak View Elementary School and Silver Spring International School, forcing multiple lockdowns and evacuations of students and staff.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said on Wednesday morning that investigators identified a 12-year-old as the person responsible for all seven bomb threats, which he admitted to detectives.
"This reckless and dangerous behavior posed a direct threat to the safety and well-being of our schools and students," he said.
However, Jones noted that children under the age of 13 cannot be charged with offenses that do not constitute "a crime of violence," a fact he believes the child knew.
"It is disheartening to accept that the individual responsible for disrupting the educational process and instilling fear in our community was well aware of the legal limitations surrounding their age," he said in a statement. "They understood that they could not be charged under current Maryland statutes."
Jones also said that "in addition to the fear and chaos these threats caused, it is important to acknowledge the significant financial and operational burden each incident placed on our department."
"Dispatching officers and K-9 units to investigate these threats, especially when our resources are already stretched thin, diverted our personnel away from other pressing calls for service," he continued.
"This diversion of resources is unacceptable, and it jeopardizes the safety of our community."
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