Student Regularly Brought Gun To School To Protect Himself

CLARKSBURG, MD — The Clarksburg High School honor roll student found with a loaded gun at school told police he regularly brought weapons to class to protect himself and others from a possible mass shooter, according to reports.

Alwin Chen, 18, of Germantown was arrested Feb. 15 for having a loaded, 9mm handgun and a knife on him at the school, police said. Chen was charged with possession of a handgun, possession of a firearm by a person under 21 years old and possession of a firearm on school property.

New court documents filed in the case said Chen regularly carried a homemade Glock semiautomatic handgun in his backpack or in a holster in his shirt to protect himself and others, The Washington Post reports. He admitted to police that he brought the gun to school and "described it as a regular occurrence," prosecutors said.

Chen said he built the gun from parts he ordered online and tools he bought at Home Depot. He also had access to guns his father kept in their home. Montgomery County Police said they recovered two rifles, a shotgun, two handguns, ammunition, inert (replica) grenades, a ballistic vest and a replica electrical firing device (referred to as a clacker) at the home.

A student told police that Chen was "always talking about bringing guns to school and saying how he would kill anyone,” The Washington Post reports. The same student told the Clarksburg High School's School Resource Officer (SRO) that Chen brought a gun to school the day he was arrested, just one day after 17 people were gunned down at a Parkland, Florida high school.

Chen's attorneys said prosecutors originally focused on a "list of grievances" against classmates found in Chen's journal. Montgomery County Police later clarified, saying: "There is no wording regarding any threat nor any expression of wanting to cause harm to anyone at the school in this journal."

See Related:

• Student Who Brought Gun To School Had More Weapons At Home
• Bomb Threats Reported At 2 Montgomery County High Schools
• Student Brings Loaded Gun, Knife To High School

Attorneys are hoping District Judge John Moffet will reconsider his decision to keep Chen in jail without bond. An emergency hearing is scheduled for Tuesday because of the "profoundly incorrect information" prosecutors presented about his journal, WTOP reports.

Chen's journal entries included some of the following statements, according to court documents:

• "I can’t help but feel angry at myself and mad at the world. … I am an insane and terrible person.”
• "I might start doing some vigilante operations. I don’t plan on killing people, but I’m surely going to hit evil people."
• “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."

Chen's attorneys said the journal "makes no threat or expresses a desire to cause harm," but Montgomery County state's attorneys said they still believe Chen presents a threat to the public.

Photos via Montgomery County Police