A 15-year-old Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School student has been charged in connection with the May 16 bomb threats called into the Bethesda school that led to a lockdown and a massive police response, according to authorities.
Montgomery County police said in a news release Monday the teen used social media to allegedly solicit the help of a 12-year-old Pennsylvania boy to call in the bomb threat to B-CC High and other county schools. The pair also are responsible for the May 17 bomb threat calls made to Bethesda Elementary School and Walt Whitman High School, according to the release.
The B-CC teen, who was not named, was charged with multiple counts including threats of mass violence, making a false statement, extortion, and other felony charges related to the event, police said.
Police spokesperson Shiera Goff told MoCo360 Monday the teen was not physically arrested but was released to his parents after he was charged. She did not say when the teen was charged.
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) said Monday in a statement that police had notified the district about the teen’s arrest.
“Making bomb threats is not only illegal but also profoundly harmful,” the statement said. “Such actions cause unnecessary anxiety and fear among students, staff and the broader community. They also significantly disrupt the daily operations of our schools, undermining the safe and supportive learning environment that we are committed to maintaining.”
At an August school board meeting, MCPS Superintendent Thomas Taylor announced a renewed emphasis on safety. As part of that emphasis, Marcus Jones, the district’s chief of security and compliance, plans to investigate the county police response to bomb threats. According to school board documents, 21 bomb threats were reported during the 2023-2024 school year.
Jones said he learned in his previous role as county police chief that many of the threats came from outside Montgomery County, and some even came from out of the state or country.
Jones said he was working to revise response protocols regarding such threats so schools don’t respond with a “knee jerk reaction” and was looking at information to make the best decision to minimize disruption.
The B-CC High threat
The May 16 incident began when the B-CC High School cluster’s Community Engagement Officer, the county police officer assigned to patrol the cluster, responded at about 11:23 a.m. to the phoned-in threat at the high school, Goff said in May.
According to police radio transmissions from that day, the school administration had received a threat that a suspect was in the building with an AR-15 rifle and pipe bombs. The school was placed on lockdown.
In Monday’s statement, police said the 15-year-old allegedly had been communicating with the 12-year-old during the lockdown and provided him with information, updates and instructions as he called in the threats. According to police, the caller demanded a specific amount of money to be paid to prevent the bombs from detonating.
Police responded to the threat at the high school with the deployment of SWAT, K-9 units and other law enforcement and security measures. As the school was placed in lockdown, many students were eating lunch, some off of school grounds, while others were inside taking exams.
As police searched the school, students who had left for lunch were not allowed in the building and dozens stood on sidewalks and the school’s driveway entrance on East-West Highway.
Then-freshman Telman Dashdorj told MoCo360 he had heard from students sheltering inside that armed police officers had “barged” into classrooms to search.
Some parents also stood across from the school waiting for more information along with students and news media.
Among the parents outside the school was FOX 5 reporter Bob Barnard, whose son, 18-year-old Jimmy, attended B-CC. The veteran reporter had been assigned to cover the threat at the school, according to the TV station located in downtown Bethesda.
“I’ve covered this kind of stuff so you know, it doesn’t usually get to me, but yeah you know, you’ve got your son trapped inside a real situation. It’s a little different, but I’m also trying to do my job and stay calm and provide as much accurate information as we can,” Barnard told the station as part of his report.
Barnard spoke to his son by phone, who said he was in the gymnasium taking an Advanced Placement Spanish exam when “a bunch of people ran in and teachers told us to stop taking the test and sit along the wall.”
Melissa Mello, whose daughter was a B-CC junior at the time, told MoCo360 that her daughter had texted her that she was safe in a room with other students and three security guards during the lockdown. Mello, a Chevy Chase resident, lives nearby and came over to the school after hearing sirens from emergency responders. “It’s terrifying,” she said.
Around 1:20 p.m., after K-9 officers searched and cleared the school, students outside of the school were allowed back in. School officials later announced that students would be dismissed at the normal time and parents could come to pick up their children.
According to police Monday, the 12-year-old boy was initially identified as the caller through a joint investigation by the police department’s Behavioral Assessment and Administrative Unit and the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. Maryland state law prohibits charges from being filed against the boy, according to police.
“The actions of both individuals caused disruption to the school day, forcing a lockdown, and taking an emotional toll on the students, staff, and the community,” police said in Monday’s release.