PG County Police Slam Washington Post Over MS-13 Report

The Prince George's County Police Department has released a statement slamming the Washington Post for a June 11 report on MS-13's presence at a local middle school, arguing that the newspaper was unfairly stereotyping the community.

PGPD pointed to a Post article that ran June 11 titled "'A ticking time bomb': MS-13 threatens a middle school, warn teachers, parents, students." The report depicts William Wirt Middle School as completely out of control with MS-13 run amuck, and teachers and police powerless to do anything about it.

Prince George's County Public Schools issued a letter in response to the article earlier this week, and police issued their own response on Thursday.

"We share in the PGCPS's conclusion that the article inaccurately portrayed William Wirt Middle School and left parents, faculty, students frightened," the statement reads. "As law enforcement, we take an oath to protect and serve every member of our community; a task we do not take lightly and drives our efforts in our communities every day."

Police added that the Post reported on 74 calls for service in the last year at the school, but argued that only four required a report and none of those reports were gang-related.

"As an agency, we work tirelessly to provide accurate information to the media upon request as we strive every day for transparency, but we cannot stand by quietly while some seek to marginalize and stereotype our community," the statement adds.

Image via PGPD