Two Teenagers Arrested for Having Gun on Montgomery College Campus
Guga Vashakidze | MCPS
A social media threat prompted Montgomery County police to arrest two teenagers on Montgomery College’s Germantown campus on Friday.
Menlik N. Sirleaf, 17, lives in the 18700 block of Walkers Choice Road in Gaithersburg, and is charged as an adult with gun and assault offenses, a Montgomery County police statement said. He is being held without bail, police said.
Guga Vashakidze, 18, lives on the 11700 block of Emerald Green Drive in Clarksburg, and was charged with possession of a handgun on school property and with the possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute, police said. Vashakidze was released Saturday on $5,000 bail, according to online court records.
The incident started about 9:15 a.m. Friday, when Germantown police district of social media threats directed toward a man who is a Montgomery College student.
The student told officers that on Monday, Oct. 1, Sirleaf had been on the campus and had threatened to harm him. The man also said Sirleaf had previously posted a photo on social media, which showed Sirleaf holding a handgun, police said.
Sirleaf later posted on the same social media account that he was going to come to the Montgomery College Germantown Campus and look for the man.
Officers looking for Sirleaf saw him and Vashakidze walking in a parking lot on the campus. Upon seeing the officers, both Sirleaf and Vashakidze ran but they were both quickly taken into custody, police said.
Officers found a handgun, suspected marijuana and a digital scale in Vashakidze’s backpack, police said.
Sirleaf and Vashakidze were arrested and taken to the Germantown station.
Sirleaf was taken to the Central Processing Unit where he was charged as an adult with attempted first-degree assault, possession of a handgun on school property and other handgun-related offenses, and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute, police said.
Vashakidze was charged with possession of a handgun on school property and with the possession of a controlled dangerous substance with the intent to distribute, police said.
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