CLT-5 Montgomery Blair HS After Action Report

Montgomery County Public Schools Department of Systemwide Safety and Emergency Rockville, Maryland May 20, 2022 To: Ms. Kate Hession, Executive Director, Maryland Center for School Safety gl From: Edward A. Clarke, Chief Safety Officer, Montgomery County Public Schools Subject: __Aflet-Action Report for Critical Life-Threatening Incident at Montgomery Blair High School on November 08, 2021 After-Action Overview: As required under COMAR Sections 14.40.05,04A, 14,40.05.04B, 14.40.05.04C, and the Maryland Safe to Learn Act of 2018 the following actions occurred: Notification of the critical life-threatening incident was made to the Maryland Center for School Safety on November 08, 2021, by the Supervisor, Department of Systemwide Safety and Emergency Management (DSSEM) for Montgomery County Public Schools, An After-Action meeting was held virtually on March 16, 2022, to discuss and review the incident and lessons learned. Meeting participants included representatives from MCPS, Montgomery County Police (MCP), and Maryland Center for School Safety. ‘The Afier-Action Report was sent to Kate Hession electronically on May 16, 2022 Incident Summary: On November 08, 2021, just before 10 a.m., a Montgomery Blair High School (Blair) student was stabbed with a knife in the (Blair) parking lot by a fellow student, This altercation started out in the community nearby the school between students who were not in school and spilled over to the school parking lot. The nciclent was observed by a teacher who was in the parking lot and called 911 and notified school security. School administrators and school security staff responded to the area of the stabbing to access the situation and observed the student victim with stab wounds to his head and neck area, ‘The Prineipal placed the school in a lockdown as the location of the student suspect was not known. MCP and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) units arrived quickly and crew members began providing emergency medical treatment to the injured student. The injured student was transported to a local hospital/trauma unit for treatment and survived his injuries. A search by police of the school/campus for the student suspect yielded negative results, MCPS central office staff and Department of Systemwide Safety and Emergency Management staff attived to provide support and assistance to the Principal. Student witnesses were brought to the main office where they are subsequently interviewed by law enforcement. At approximately 11 a.m, the Principal lifts the lockdown and places the school into a shelter-in-place, a less restrictive response action and assigns staff to monitor doors. approximately 1 p.m,, the student involved in the stabbing and his parents drove into the front parking Jot of the school and the student is taken into custody without incident by MCP officers, At approximately 1:07 p.m. the Principal lifts the shelter time. n-place and school is dismissed at the normalMs. Hession 2 May 16, 2022 ‘The student involved in the stabbing was transported via MCP to the local district station where he was charged as an adult with felony charges and subsequently taken before a District Court Commissioner and held in custody pending a bond review hearing the next day. Messages and updates to parents and school community were shared by the Principal during the incident, ‘The next day the student involved in the stabbing, twin brother, a Montgomery Blair student shows up at school and he is subsequently found to be in the possession of a knife thought to be used in the stabbing and is arrested by MCP officers for possession of a weapon, Incident Observations and Lessons Learned Outi responses to a cri ied below is a summary of the observations, lessons learned, and recommendations to enhance future al life-threatening incident. ‘There was a timely and appropriate level of response by both MCP and MCERS personnel which lead to quick life-saving treatment of the victim and stabilization of the crime scene, The police response was a priority level based on the nature of the incident and included multiple patrol officers, community engagement officers, detectives, supervisors, and executive officers, The 3" District Lieutenant arrived and assumed Incident Command as this was a law enforcement matter. ‘The police response was linked to the MCPS Adequate Local Law Enforeement Coverage Plan, There was good coordination of timely information shared between involved school staff and responding officers so critical decisions could be made, CCTV camera footage was made available to officers/detectives due to the exigent circumstances and public safety need to review footage as this was an active life-threatening investigation. ‘The 3" District Commander noted that the law enforcement response worked very well as District officers and supervisors had previously conducted a walk-through of Montgomery Blair High School and other high schools in the District in an effort to be prepared for such a oritreal incident, ‘The District Commander and Principal both noted that this year there is a new Community Engagement Officer (CEO) Program where CEOs ate assigned to schools in a cluster model. The CEO was not at the sehool when the incident occurred but they and other CEOs responded to the school to help in the response to the incident. All parties should follow the CEO Memorandum of Understanding when it comes to which agency takes the lead in a critical incident, particularly as it relates to securing witness statements. MCP recommends that there be one school/school system primary point of contact to provide information to officers and detectives to avoid confusion or duplication of efforts In situations where there is an active law enforcement investigation the release of information should be coordinated through the unified command process and agency Public Information Officers working collaboratively together on what information can be released and when, Since this critical incident, MCPS administrators, and Blair security staff have received Incident Command training to include tabletop exercises which will improve coordination of response between MCPS, law enforcement, and fire and rescue personnel in a critical incident. Questions regarding the Afler-Action Report can be addressed to MCPS Chief Safety Officer, Edward A. Clarke, at edward_a_clarke@mepsmd.org or 240-740-3066.

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