Rockville Teen Sentenced For Threatening Shooting At MoCo School

ROCKVILLE, MD — A Rockville teen who wrote a 129-page manifesto about carrying out a school shooting will serve a year in prison after pleading guilty to one count of threatening mass violence earlier this year.

A Circuit Court judge on Wednesday sentenced Alex Ye, 19, to 10 years in prison but suspended all but 12 months. Ye was also ordered to serve five years of supervised probation upon his release, according to the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office.

Ye waived credit for the nearly 14 months he has already served since his arrest, prosecutors said.

Ye was taken into custody and charged in April 2024 following a joint investigation by Montgomery County police and the FBI. According to police, the FBI notified county authorities about a 129-page "manifesto" authored by Ye, in which he wrote about committing a school shooting and how to carry out the act. In the manifesto, Ye contemplated targeting an elementary school and stated that he wanted to be famous.

Court documents obtained by the Washington Post said the manifesto read like a work of fiction about a character named "James Wang." Told in a first-person perspective, an acquaintance of Ye’s told investigators the character bore “striking similarities” to Ye.

“The story focused on a transgender main character being bullied in school and other issues that (the acquaintance) believed were directly from Ye’s life and not indicative of fiction,” investigators wrote in an affidavit obtained by the Post.

A passage from the manifesto read, "As I walk through the hallways, I cherry-pick the classrooms that are the easiest targets."

Authorities said Ye also researched topics related to shootings online, including "gun ranges near me." He also researched school shootings, including the Columbine shooting, a video game about the Sandy Hook shooting and the Parkland school shooter’s sentence.

According to the Post, Ye had been hospitalized for mental health issues, including homicidal and suicidal ideation, at least three times since late 2022.

During Wednesday's sentencing hearing, the judge set a hearing for Sept. 25 for the defense to provide details on an ‘after-care’ plan for Ye upon his release. During probation, Ye must also meet with the judge every two weeks to provide proof that he is meeting the conditions of his release. Conditions include mental health treatment and community service.

Prosecutors said Ye must also stay away from the two schools he threatened, Wootton High School and Lakewood Elementary School, and stay off the social media app Discord.