Students return to Baltimore County school day after deadly shooting on campus

Lansdowne High School students returned to the classroom on Wednesday, a day after a 16-year-old was shot and killed after being chased by a gunman onto the school's campus.

Parents were understandably nervous during school drop-off but were met with a heightened police presence. The school district said additional counselors and support staff for available for students during the day.

"I will drop her off and pick her up so that she doesn't have to walk," said Caroline Westmore, a parent of a Lansdowne High School student. "I told her she can go to the store, but after school, I'll pick her up and we're going home."

Lansdowne High School Principal Allison Seymour sent a letter to families Tuesday night after police confirmed he was a student, but didn't attend school that day.

"Our thoughts are with the student's family, friends, and loved ones," the letter read. "While most students were dismissed for the day, some students were on campus when this incident occurred and we know what they witnessed was traumatizing."

Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers sent a letter to families on Wednesday saying the district is prioritizing providing social-emotional support and safe spaces for students and staff.

"Gun violence near schools is unacceptable and jeopardizes safety," Rogers said. "The loss of a student is tragic, and our thoughts are with their family, friends, and loved ones."

Westmore says parents need to take a more active role if their child skips class.

"Normally if my daughter misses a day, they call me and they tell me that she's absent," the parent said. "His mom or father should've gotten a call that he wasn't in school, and they should've come to look to see where he was at."

Shooting investigation

Police responded around 2:37 p.m. on Tuesday to a shopping plaza in the 3900 block of Hollins Ferry Road, across the street from Lansdowne High School, where officers said the teen was shot at by a gunman in a targeted attack. 

Police said the shooting happened nearly 30 minutes after school was dismissed. The campus was placed on lockdown and afternoon activities were cancelled.

After being shot at the plaza, officers said the teen took off to the Lansdowne High School grounds, where he was shot, fell down, and was then shot a couple more times. He was taken to the hospital where he died.

Baltimore County Police say several people have been questioned in connection to this investigation, but the department hasn't announced any arrests.

Investigators said the suspect took off in a car and there is video evidence.

There is a $2,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information can call Baltimore County Police

Past Lansdowne incidents

A restaurant owner, whose business is in the plaza where the shooting originated, told WJZ off camera this is not the first time a shooting has happened there. He says there have been several, including an armed robbery at his restaurant where his father was shot and killed.

In 2023, a 13-year-old was shot multiple times at a shopping center in the 3900 block of Hollins Ferry Road in Lansdowne. The shooting happened in a parking lot behind a CVS convenience store. 

Months earlier, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the unit block of Silerton Road in Lansdowne. Two teenagers were taken into custody in connection to the shooting, according to authorities.

Also in 2023, a Lansdowne High student was stabbed at the school during the middle of the day.

The mother said in a social media post that another student took a "military grade knife with a jagged edge and stabbed her [daughter] multiple times in her head, neck, chest, arm, shoulder and back."