Magruder High Shooting Defendant To Be Tried As An Adult, Judge Says

ROCKVILLE, MD — The teenager charged with shooting a classmate in a Magruder High School bathroom earlier this year will be tried as an adult, a Montgomery County Circuit judge decided Thursday.

Steven Alston Jr., 17, was charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault and weapons charges.

The Washington Post reports that Alston's attorney, David Felsen, argued that Alston brought the gun to school because he felt threatened by the shooting victim and his friends.

“This is a young man who has a chance at doing the right things, and receiving the right services, so that the court makes sure there is no recidivism in this case,” Felsen said when arguing for Alston's case to be moved to juvenile court, according to The Washington Post.

Authorities say that Alston shot one of his classmates in the bathroom at Magruder using a ghost gun, which can be purchased in parts and assembled. Following the shooting, the school was in lockdown for hours.

Bethesda Beat reported that the victim's mother said he was on life support for three weeks and will need to have his 10th surgery soon.

Maryland State's Attorney John McCarthy said that the judge who made the decision to keep the case out of juvenile court, Judge David Boynton, is the senior judge of the Montgomery Circuit Court.

“Mr. Alston displayed very adultlike behavior,” said Boynton, according to The Washington Post. “Mr. Alston clearly poses a danger to the community.”