A 56-year-old hall monitor was shot at Frederick Douglass High School, located on Gwynns Falls Parkway in West Baltimore, just after noon today, police said.
Col. Byron Conaway of the Baltimore Police Department said a 25-year-old man entered the school through the front door and was approached by the hall monitor.
“As they encountered each other, at that point the suspect shot our victim.”
BPD said in a follow-up release that the monitor, a 56-year-old man, was shot in the lower torso.
In a statement, Baltimore City Public Schools said the 25-year-old is “an adult family member of a student.”
The building was placed on lockdown immediately, and school police officers engaged the suspect and took him into custody without incident, said Akil Hamm, chief of schools police.
“Everything was isolated to the main entrance,” he said.
The victim was transported to Shock Trauma and is listed in critical-but-stable condition, said Conaway. No students were harmed.
City Schools CEO Sonja Santelises said the victim “has served Baltimore’s students for many years, and I ask you all as part of our City Schools community to hold him and his family in your hearts.”
The school system will release more information on the shooting in the coming days, she added, and review safety and security measures at the high school.
“My highest priority is the safety and well-being of our students and staff members, and I and my leadership team will take all possible steps to ensure that our schools are the safe havens they need to be.”
Conaway said there were people holding a meeting inside the school, and investigators believe the suspect may have been going in to confront someone at the meeting, but he declined to elaborate and said officers are continuing to investigate the shooter’s motives.
Classes were dismissed at 1:15 p.m., City Schools said.
This story has been updated.
