Gun Held to Student’s Head on School Bus, 3 Teens Arrested in Gang Related Incident.
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, MD — A 14-year-old middle school girl has been arrested and charged with attempted murder for her role in an gang-related attack on a Prince George’s County school bus where one student was almost shot, authorities said.
A teenage boy was assaulted by three teenage boys on a school bus May 1. One of the attackers tried to shoot the teen while on the bus, but the weapon malfunctioned, authorities said.
The assault happened shortly before 5 p.m. when the bus had stopped at Iverson Street and Sutler Drive in Oxon Hill to drop off students, Patch reported. While stopped, the three suspects boarded the bus and began to attack the victim who was still on the bus, according to Prince George’s County Police.
One of the suspects pulled out a gun and tried to shoot the victim several times, but the weapon didn’t fire, police said. The teenager suffered minor injures during the assault.
Two adults — a bus driver and a bus aide — were on or near the bus at the time and were uninjured.
Video of the attack released by police shows a teenage attacker holding a gun to the victim’s head and chest while his two accomplices hold the victim down, police said. All three teens then beat the victim and fled.
Police identified a 14-year-old girl who they say masterminded the attack. Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy spoke outside the courthouse after the girl’s bond hearing, noting that three teens have been charged with attempted first-degree murder. A fourth teen remains on the loose.
“We take these charges seriously. We take their actions seriously,” Braveboy said. “We will pursue these cases in the interest of justice and public safety.”
Prosecutors told the judge at the girl’s detention hearing that a gang rivalry was involved in the attack, WUSA reported. The victim’s mother also asked the judge not to let the girl go home, saying she, her son and the school bus driver feared she could orchestrate another attack if released. The suspect’s family begged the judge to allow the girl to go home.
“She planned this out, and she set it up to a T,” the victim’s mother said in court.
Attorneys for the two boys who are in custody said they are innocent. The attorneys argued that the attackers can’t be identified on video because of the masks, according to WUSA.
“Parents should know who their children are hanging out with, who they are socializing with, and who is influencing them,” Braveboy said after the hearing. “Even if your child does not have a weapon, but the person they are with has a weapon and they intend to do harm, they will be charged as if they had the weapon. It’s really important to take this seriously. We are serious about prosecuting everyone who is a gun offender here in Prince George’s County.”