An 18-year-old student in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been accused of driving a stolen car with a stolen assault weapon inside to school, police say.
Mario Alvarado, of Wheaton, was arrested near Albert Einstein High School on Monday, police said.
Montgomery County police said a school resource officer saw Alvarado park a blue Mazda 3 behind the school. After getting out of the car and returning a short time later, Alvarado drove away from the school, police said.
The officer then initiated a traffic stop on the Mazda at the intersection of Norris Drive and Kenton Drive. Police said Alvarado immediately got out of the Mazda and ran from the officer. He returned to the intersection a short time later and police arrested him.
Inside the trunk of the Mazda that was reported stolen on Thursday, officers found an assault weapon, which belonged to the Rockville City Police Department. Police discovered the gun had been stolen from a police cruiser in the Kensington area on Saturday.
Alvarado has been charged with possessing a deadly weapon on school property, possession of an assault weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle and other firearm-related charges. He is being held on a $2,000 bond.
Officers also found another stolen vehicle, a black Nissan Frontier, parked near the high school. A shotgun inside the Nissan had been stolen from the same cruiser that the weapon was taken from, police said.
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On Tuesday, police arrested a 15-year-old boy and charged him in connection to the crimes. He was released to the custody of his parents, police said.
Montgomery County Public Schools released the following statement:
"On Monday, May 1, a student at Albert Einstein High School committed a serious offense by bringing a gun onto school property. While the gun never entered the school building and remained in a car parked on a remote part of the campus, this is inexcusable. As Principal James Fernandez described in his letter to the community on Monday, this incident was resolved thanks to the vigilance and proactive actions of the school’s dedicated School Resource Officer. I thank our partners in law enforcement and our MCPS security teams for their commitment to keeping schools safe every day.
"It is our responsibility to provide a safe learning environment for our students and we will do everything within our power to protect them. MCPS does not tolerate guns on school property. Any student who brings a gun on school property will be referred to law enforcement and disciplined accordingly.
"While the mission of MCPS is to educate our students, know that our first priority is, and will always be, to keep your children safe in our schools."
