Armed Student's Arrest In Murder Case Leads To Creation Of HCPSS Safety Advisory Group

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Following the arrest of a Howard County Public School System student in connection to the fatal shooting of a Baltimore man in Columbia, school superintendent Bill Barnes announced he would form a school safety and security advisory group to recommend to him any changes that should be made.

Kendrick McLellan, 26, was found in the driver's seat of a vehicle around 2:14 a.m. Oct. 12 by Howard County Police who were making routine checks in the area. The vehicle was found in the 8800 block of Centre Park Drive. McLellan had multiple gunshot wounds, Howard County Police said.

The 17-year-old boy, later identified as Tracee Octavious Parker, was arrested Oct. 15 around 12:45 p.m. at Howard High School where he was a student. He also had a loaded gun in his backpack and was wearing an ankle monitor when arrested for an incident in another jurisdiction. He is under the supervision of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, Howard County Police said. The teen has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder and other charges.

Howard County Police arrested a second suspect — a 14-year-old boy from Severn — in this case. He was taken into custody at his high school in Anne Arundel County.

Barnes spoke at a news conference led by Howard County Police about the incident.

"The situation that existed at Howard High School and led to the events ... are not acceptable considering the escalation of school violence in our country. I join the voices of our students, staff, families and all those who care for the safety of our most precious resource – our children – to say that we must review every law, policy, regulation, practice and protocol in place across our state and within our school system that impact the safety of our learning spaces. And it is my intent to leave no stone unturned in the areas I can control directly, which are the safety measures and protocols in our school buildings, and our plan for appropriately educating students with known criminal histories. This is the time for swift and collective action that prioritizes the safety of our children and staff," Barnes said.

Not only is Barnes forming an external school safety and security advisory group comprised of students, staff members, parents, police, county officials and other community members to make safety-related recommendation, he also has asked staff to review the cases of 48 students who have reportable offenses or who are detained or committed by the Department of Juvenile Services.

Barnes confirmed during the press conference that officials did not know that the student in question who had enrolled into HCPSS from a neighboring school district was under the supervision of the Department of Juvenile Services nor knew of his prior convictions.

"We learned ... following the bail hearing of very serious alleged violent offenses in this individual’s past. If this information and data had been available to us before ..., I assure our community that I would not have approved a placement at Howard High School for this student. Good decisions are predicated on accurate data. And I now know that there is important data not available to the school system that best informs placement," Barnes said.

Moving forward, HCPSS leaders plan to do the following:

• We continuously review and adapt our safety protocols to reflect best practices in collaboration with Howard County Police and the Maryland Center for School Safety;
• School Resource Officers and other security personnel in schools are trained in de-escalation techniques and follow protocols designed to prioritize the safety and well-being of students and staff; and
• Our school system implements a comprehensive approach to safety, which includes physical security measures, staff training, emergency response planning, and student engagement to help students with ways to report possible threats and information.
• Most importantly, relationships are our best security measure and must continually be cultivated to prevent students from feeling the need to bring a weapon into a school or take threatening action. In most cases with students who have had incidents that resulted in arrest, collaboration between law enforcement and judicial agencies, the family, and the school system has worked well.

Related:

Teen With Loaded Gun At School While Wearing Ankle Monitor Arrested In Man's Murder Case

2nd Teen Arrested In Fatal Shooting Of Baltimore Man In Columbia