On April 17, the Montgomery County Police Department arrested Thomas S. Wootton High School student Alex Ye after investigators discovered a 129-page document of Ye’s alleged plans to commit a school shooting. 

Police charged 18-year-old Ye with making threats of mass violence, a misdemeanor under Maryland law punishable by up to 10 years in prison.  

In the document — which Ye claimed to be a fictional memoir — the main character, a transgender person like Ye, recounts their experiences being bullied and facing various other challenges. The first-person narrator, James Wang, delves into specific strategies for carrying out a school shooting.

“As I walk through the hallways, I cherry-pick the classrooms that are the easiest targets,” Ye wrote. “I have also considered shooting up my former elementary school because little kids make easier targets.” 

In the document, Ye expressed a desire to achieve fame and set a record for the highest number of kills in a school shooting. Additionally, investigators found he was in a Discord chat group that glorified school shootings.

Although Ye prefaced his memoir with a disclaimer stating that it was a work of fiction, an acquaintance informed detectives that the main character revealed “striking similarities” to Ye, including being transgender and Asian. 

The incident has made junior Nicole Ishak contemplate her own safety at school. 

“To have someone who is a threat so close by is definitely scary,” Ishak said. “In our area, we don’t see that a lot. I feel like we have good security at Whitman, so I’m not as afraid, but it’s concerning.”

Ye attended Wootton High School but switched to Wootton’s virtual schooling program in the fall of 2022. In December of that same year, he was hospitalized following threats to commit a school shooting and experiencing homicidal and suicidal thoughts. He underwent another five-month hospitalization in 2023 for “homicidal ideations.”

Sophomore Annalise Yi is feeling the effects of the arrest throughout her school and is disturbed following the incident, she said. 

“It did make me feel kind of scared about going to school a little bit because I was just shocked that people even think about doing that,” Yi said. “I think everyone was pretty scared.”

Investigators found that last year, Ye had written “My homicidal ideation has been getting worse lately, to the point I might act on it eventually.” 

Head of Whitman Security Clarence Dove acknowledged the horrible occurrence but said he will continue to utilize standard safety measures to protect Whitman. 

“I think it’s a terrible situation anytime someone or people in general want to harm others,” Dove said. “Life is tough enough and we shouldn’t have to be so concerned about these types of incidents in our schools. It doesn’t change anything with regard to my work here at Whitman. My purpose is to do my best to ensure the safety of all that come onto this campus.”

The charge against Ye specifies that Wootton High School was his target, so police recently strengthened their security outside the building. Ye is currently being held without bond and a trial date is set for June 3. 

AP Government teacher Peter Kenah emphasized the power of community in looking out for one another.

“I’m super thankful that a fellow student turned over the manifesto to the police,” Kenah said. “We always say among us teachers that students know more than the teachers do. I’m really thankful that no one got hurt.”