PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — Police are still searching for one of the three teenage boys who pushed their way onto a Prince George's County school bus and tried to shoot a middle school student.
A spokesperson for the state's attorney's office said two of the teens are currently in detention. They had a bond hearing on May 8 and are expected to be in court again for a preliminary hearing on Friday. Both teenagers are being charged as adults.
Two weeks ago, police say the teens pushed their way onto a bus dropping students off from school and pointed a gun at a 14-year-old boy in Oxon Hill.
Martin Diggs, president of the Educational Support Personnel union in Prince George's County, gave WUSA9 more details of the terrifying incident.
According to Diggs, who spoke to both the driver and the aide who were on the bus at the time of the incident, the driver was dropping off a female student at Iverson Street and Sutler Drive near Iverson Mall when the three suspects forced their way onto the bus. The female student made it off the bus OK, leaving one student alone on the bus.
The three intruders pushed the driver and aide aside and approached the student on the bus, Diggs said.
One of the three intruders pulled out a handgun and held it against the head of the student on the bus. The suspect pulled the trigger three times, but the gun misfired. When the gun failed to fire, two of the suspects ran off the bus and the third pistol whipped the student. After beating the boy up, he also ran off the bus, Diggs said.
The entire incident was caught on camera, and police have released surveillance images of the teens in hopes of tracking down the third suspect.
Police have not yet said whether the gun used in the assault has been recovered, but did say they recovered unfired ammunition from the bus.
Following the brazen attack, members of the community met to discuss safety on school buses in the district on Tuesday. The boy's mother spoke at the meeting.
"My baby had a barrel print on his face right here," the boy's mother said pointing to her head. "When he got off the bus, [he said], 'I'm not getting on the bus no more,' and I could do nothing but say, 'OK,'" the boy's mother said.
Organized by the bus driver's union, many at this meeting said Prince George's County Public Schools needs to train drivers to deal with guns and consider new technologies to keep weapons off buses.
The president of the employee union representing bus drivers said the employees on the bus were terrorized and took leave in the immediate aftermath of the attack because they feared being targeted as witnesses.
The state's attorney says she will encourage county and school leaders to make security changes.
Police are still searching for the third teen involved in the attack, and are offering a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. Anyone who may have information is asked to call police at 301-749-5064 or Prince George's County Police Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.