Phone Threats Made At 2 Silver Spring Schools

SILVER SPRING, MD — Students at Silver Spring and Kensington schools were told to shelter in place Wednesday after phone threats were made to two different schools, according to reports.

The first call came in at around 9:30 a.m. at Argyle Middle School at 2400 Bel Pre Rd.and referenced the Connecticut Avenue area, Montgomery Community Media reports. The MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools) spokesperson Gboyinde Onijala said the caller mentioned guns and threatened to shoot up the school.

The next phone threat occurred at 10:15 a.m. at East Silver Spring Elementary School at 631 Silver Spring Ave. No further details have been released regarding the nature of the call.

MCPS officials decided to shelter students in place at four schools: Argyle Middle, East Silver Spring Elementary, Loiderman Middle and Rock View Elementary in Kensington. A Shelter-In-Place was called for at 9:45 a.m. and lasted until about 11:30 a.m.

Argyle Middle School principal James Allrich sent a letter home to parents, stating:

"We are committed to maintaining a safe, secure learning environment for our student and staff each day. As a parent/guardian, you can assist us in this effort by impressing upon your child that a phone threat is not a prank, but a dangerous act that violates both school rules and public laws. If your child has any knowledge of this incident, I ask that they please share that information with us."

Montgomery County Police officers are continuing to investigate this situation. There was an increased police presence at dismissal around the schools.

Read the full Montgomery Community Media story here.

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