19-year-old sentenced for thwarted high school shooting in Maryland

A former Montgomery County student convicted of plotting a shooting at Wootton High School will spend another year in jail after a judge decided Wednesday he was unlikely to get into a dedicated mental health program.

Judge Jill Cummins sentenced 19-year-old Alex Ye to 10 years in prison but suspended all but one year of it to be served at a local facility. In exchange, Ye agreed to waive credit for the approximately 13 months he’s already spent behind bars since his arrest last year. Ye was also ordered to stay away from Wootton High School and Lakewood Elementary School, which he also targeted.

Cummins said she struggled with the appropriate sentence. Although Ye was convicted of a misdemeanor count of making a threat of mass violence, under Maryland state law, the charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors sought all 10, saying it would allow Ye to serve his time in the state’s Patuxent Youth Program, where he would receive specialized mental health treatment. If she was sure Ye would get in, Cummins said she would “absolutely” give him the full 10 years.

Read more: WUSA9