Teenager Charged with Possession of Stolen Handgun at Paint Branch High

A 17-year-old was charged as an adult for having a stolen handgun at Paint Branch High School, a Montgomery County police statement said.

Elijah C. Nyamekye of the 100 block of Wilton Oaks Drive in Silver Spring was taken to the Montgomery County Detention Center where he posted a $3,500 bond, according to online court records.

According to police, a teenager tried to enter Paint Branch High about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday using a false name and false school system ID number. The teen then fled, police said.

Paint Branch High is at 14121 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville.

The school student resource officer obtained a description of the person, and the SRO and a school security employee searched the area to try to find him, police said.

The SRO and the school security employee found a person who matched the description walking on Briggs Chaney Road at Columbia Pike (U.S. 29), police said. The teen tried to flee when the SRO stopped to speak with him, police said.

The SRO arrested him and identified him as Nyamekye. School security personnel positively identified Nyamekye as the one who had been in the school and then fled, police said.

After arresting Nyamekye, the SRO searched the black shoulder bag that Nyamekye was carrying and located a loaded, .38-caliber revolver inside the bag, police said. The SRO later determined that that revolver had been reported as stolen from Pennsylvania.

Nyamekye has been charged as an adult with possession of a handgun, possession of a firearm by a person under 21 years old, possession of a stolen handgun, trespassing on school property and disrupting school activities.

Principal Myriam A. Yarbrough described the incident in a letter that was sent to parents.

“I want to commend our security staff for their vigilance and quick response. This type of attentiveness helps us support a safe and healthy school environment,” she wrote.

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