Prosecutors from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office held a school-wide gun education assembly during third period today.

The presentation contained information on Maryland gun possession laws, gun violence statistics and violence-free conflict resolution. Throughout the assembly, prosecutors also reiterated the importance of students’ role in preventing gun-related incidents by adhering to an “if you see something, say something” approach. 

The assembly is a part of a districtwide initiative that aims to address a recent spike in gun-related incidents and youth firearms possession through gun education presentations to all MCPS high schools over this fall. At one point in the presentation, prosecutors played a video containing messages from friends and family of an Albert Einstein High School student who lost their life to gun violence. 

As of August 14, police seized 790 guns in Montgomery County, up 75% from 2020. The prosecutors also expressed concern about the significant uptick in the number of  “ghost guns” — untraceable firearms often produced by a private individual— that Montgomery County police seized. 

The assembly took place over a month after reports of a gun on campus at Bethesda Chevy-Chase High sent the school into lockdown, and eight months after a student shot and critically injured another student at Magruder High School.

For students like senior Jack Szyprowski, the assembly contained useful information but lacked depth.

“The resources that they had on the slides — like websites and phone numbers to call — are useful to be aware of,” Szyprowski said. “But in general I think that it seemed to be a little repetitive and kind of common sense.”