An update to a report regarding the Jan. 2022 shooting at Magruder High School found a lack of communication and clear command structure that day.
Following an after-action report from Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) last May, Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight directed an additional review of the shooting. The addendum released this month is an update to the initial report.
It includes new information and lessons learned “[i]n a continued effort to build and rebuild trust with our community and in response to the many community requests for more information,” per the document.
According to the report, following the shooting that day, the lockdown was prolonged partially due to a “lack of Unified Command” and there was a missed opportunity to transition to a shelter-in-place after the suspect was apprehended and the police investigation was finished. The lack of Unified Command structure from MCPS and between the school district and police led to confusion in decision-making and delays in communication and reunification.
The report found communication was “unclear and infrequent” during the parent-child Reunification process. It found the “lack of information” given to the community caused more stress during reunification. Additionally, a “lack of communication” led to misinformation and confusion.
On Jan. 21, 2022, a shooting at Magruder High School left a 15-year-old student in critical condition. A Magruder student, who was 17 years old at the time, was sentenced in December to 18 years in prison for the crime.
In the report this month, MCPS recognized parts of the response “did not go well” and has made adjustments to its incident command and serious incident structures. MCPS has also committed to use ConnectEd to share information in multiple languages as soon as an incident happens and frequently throughout it.
An internal team not involved in the direct response to the shooting conducted the review, as detailed in the report. MCPS Deputy Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy led the internal review with a team. The review included more than 40 interviews, the 911 call that day, on-site visits of Magruder High School facilities and school security camera footage.
