º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ

Westlake High School student arrested after being caught with handgun, drugs

A student in Charles County, Maryland, has been arrested after being caught with a handgun, ammunition and drugs inside Westlake High School.

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office said the 17-year-old has been charged as an adult.

It happened Thursday around 7:30 a.m. when school officials noticed a “strong odor of cannabis” on the student, a sheriff’s office news release said.

The sheriff’s office said the student became uncooperative and tried to leave the school when a school resource officer got involved and detained the student.

A search of the student’s bookbag found a loaded 9 mm handgun, cannabis, THC gummies, jars of THC resins, unused packaging materials and a weighing scale, the sheriff’s office said.

The gun is a privately made gun or “ghost gun” and has no serial number, the sheriff’s office added.

The student faces charges of carrying a loaded weapon, possession with intent to distribute drugs and possession of a handgun without a serial number, among others.

The student is being held at the Charles County Detention Center.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ’s Grace Newton and Abigail Constantino contributed to this report.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2025 º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Will Vitka

William Vitka is a Digital Writer/Editor for º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ.com. He's been in the news industry for over a decade. Before joining º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ, he worked for CBS News, Stuff Magazine, The New York Post and wrote a variety of books—about a dozen of them, with more to come.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your º£½Ç¾«Æ·ºÚÁÏ account for notifications and alerts customized for you.