Steven Alston Jr., who was charged with attempted first-degree murder following the January 21 shooting of a fellow student at Magruder High School in Rockville, pleaded guilty Monday.
He will be sentenced on Dec. 22.
A trial had been scheduled for Feb. 27, 2023 for the Gaithersburg teen, who is now 18. He used a ghost gun in the shooting. Three different parts for that gun were delivered to his home, Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said earlier.
Alston was 17 when he shot a 15-year-old student inside the school restroom. The student suffered life-threatening injuries and underwent numerous surgeries. He was hospitalized for several weeks.
Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge David Boynton accepted the plea.
Alston also had been charged with assault first degree, use of a firearm during a felony, having a dangerous weapon in school and possession of a firearm.
“I want to express gratitude for the collaboration between Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery County Police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office immediately following the shooting and for their actions in resolving the situation that day without any further violence. I thank Assistant State’s Attorneys Carlotta Woodward and Donna Fenton for their extraordinary work in the prosecution of this case,” said State’s Attorney for Montgomery County John McCarthy following the sentencing.
During the investigation, police learned that several students had posted about the shooting on social media before contacting school officials or the police.
According to police at the time of the shooting, Magruder went under full lockdown at 1:05 p.m. Alston was taken into custody after 3 p.m.
Police then found the frame of a gun on the floor and the slide of the gun in the suspect’s backpack. A gun magazine with ammunition was in his sock. The weapon was not operational at that time because it was in different parts.
