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Teenager Charged with Possession of Stolen Handgun at Paint Branch High School

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 12, 2018

A Montgomery County Police Department School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to Paint Branch High School has charged 17-year-old Elijah C. Nyamekye of the 100 block of Wilton Oaks Drive in Silver Spring as an adult for offenses related to the possession of a stolen handgun at the school.

Today (Tuesday, June 12) at approximately 11:30 a.m., the Paint Branch High School Resource Officer (SRO) received information from Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) security personnel that an unknown male who did not attend the school had entered the building and after providing a false name and false MCPS student identification number to them, fled from the school.  The SRO obtained a description of the male suspect and the SRO and a school security employee searched the surrounding area of the school together in an attempt to locate him.

The SRO and the school security employee located a person who matched the suspect’s description walking on Briggs Chaney Road at Columbia Pike (Route 29).  The suspect attempted to flee when the SRO stopped to speak with him.  The SRO detained the suspect, placed him under arrest, and identified him as Nyamekye.  School security personnel positively identified Nyamekye as the suspect who had been in the school and then fled.

After arresting Nyamekye, the SRO searched the black shoulder bag that Nyamekye was carrying and located a loaded, .38 revolver inside the bag.  The SRO later determined that that revolver had been reported as stolen from Pennsylvania.

Nyamekye was transported to the Central Processing Unit where he was charged as an adult with possession of a handgun, possession of a firearm by a person under 21 years old, possession of a stolen handgun, trespassing on school property, and disrupting school activities.

Bond information for Nyamekye is not available at this time.

*Note: a mugshot for Nyamekye will not be provided due to his age.*

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Release ID: 18-250
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: firearm