Maryland teacher walks students off campus, makes unfounded stabbing report
A teacher in Maryland’s Frederick County Public Schools pulled about two dozen elementary school students out of class Thursday and took them through the woods to a cafe before calling in an unfounded report of multiple stabbings, according to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies say they found no evidence of any stabbings at Green Valley Elementary School in Monrovia, Md. They were uncertain what prompted the report from the teacher, who authorities have not identified. The matter was under investigation, sheriff’s office spokesman Todd Wivell said Friday.
According to the sheriff’s office, the teacher was inside with a class of fifth-graders and tried to call the front office via her radio to get permission to take the class outside, but no one answered. The teacher thought the school looked “eerily quiet,” and decided to move the children away from the school, which is a part of the “avoid, deny and defend” training taught to Maryland public school teachers and students. The training guides students and staff of schools through what to do in the case of an active shooter or other active threat.
The teacher ushered the students through the woods for nearly a mile. She ordered the children to take off brightly colored clothing items – like a shirt, watch or other accessories – and leave it in the woods. The teacher took off her own shirt and had arrived at a nearby cafe in a sports bra.
The group reached The Buzz, a coffeehouse off Maryland Route 80 in Monrovia. The teacher told the owner of the cafe to call 911 over a report to multiple stabbings at Green Valley Elementary School at around 12:24 p.m. Thursday.
Deputies called the school to check into the teacher’s report of multiple stabbings but quickly found the report was unsubstantiated.
During the call, the school reported it had a teacher and 27 students missing, which sent the school into lockdown because the teacher took the students off the premises, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office helped coordinate returning all the students. A bus picked the students up from the cafe and brought them back to school grounds. The students were back on campus by no later than 2 p.m.
The teacher was placed into custody. She was not arrested or handcuffed, but she was transported to the Frederick Health Hospital for an evaluation.
Green Valley Elementary School Principal Giuseppe Di Monte said in an email to the community that school staff contacted each of the 27 families impacted by the event on Thursday night. School staff also met with children’s parents Friday morning, and additional mental health staff were present on campus.
Frederick County Public Schools is investigating the incident before determining whether further steps should be taken, the school system said in a statement. It would not share specific information regarding personnel issues.
“We are grateful that this was a noncredible threat, but we know that the experience was upsetting for the students involved and our community at large,” the school system said in a statement. “We regret that this happened.”
Officials with the sheriff’s office are meeting with the state’s attorney’s office to determine whether to press charges, Wivell said.