A Montgomery County student has agreed to plead guilty to taking a loaded gun to his high school.
Alwin Chen was arrested in February after a school resource officer at Clarksburg High School received a tip that Chen had a gun. It was the day after a gunman opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people.
Prosecutors said Chen, an honor student, wrote in a journal that he felt lonely, worthless and ready to die.
"Sometimes I think I am crazy or mentally ill but I hide it and refuse to admit it because I know how to cope and blend into society but it's just too lonely," he wrote.
Chen, 18, told police he took the gun to school to protect against a mass shooter. Prosecutors argued he could have posed a danger.
In February, a judge ordered Chen, of Germantown, held without bond, and ordered he undergo a mental health evaluation.
Court documents say Chen plans to plead guilty to carrying a handgun on public school property.
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A hearing is scheduled for April 24. Chen faces a maximum sentence of three years.
Chen's lawyer said "hysteria" originally surrounded the case, and he's looking forward to an "appropriate" resolution.
