The lockdown has been lifted at Magruder High School, in Rockville, Maryland, after a shooting that left a student in serious condition and another in custody Friday afternoon.

The school was locked down for about four hours; in a letter to families Friday afternoon, Principal Leroy Evans said dismissal would begin between 5 and 6 p.m.

“In concert with Montgomery County Police, students who ride buses will be dismissed before all other students. Parents picking up their children at the school will do so at the stadium parking lot. We will notify parents when it is appropriate to come to the school to pick up your children.”

Police Chief Marcus Jones said the police were called about “a situation in one of the bathrooms” just before 1 p.m.; the school went into lockdown a few minutes later.

After the school was locked down, Jones said, the police made a methodical search of the building. He said, “We believed at the time the student was not a danger to other students.”

The student was found in a classroom around 3 p.m.; the police found the gun nearby.

There’s still a lot under investigation, Jones said; it’s not known what grades or ages the two students were in, or their relationship: “We don’t know exactly what this was about, he said.

It’s also not known whether the weapon in question was a ghost gun, or how it got into the school. He added that police haven’t talked with the suspect’s parents yet.

Dr. Monifa McKnight, the interim superintendent of schools, thanked the school’s teachers, staff and students for keeping it together during a stressful afternoon. “I know this is a very difficult situation for you” was her message to students.

She added that a crisis management team would be in the school over the weekend and into next week for anyone who needed support, and that the employee assistance program was available for staff.

The Montgomery County Council issued a statement Friday night, saying they are heartbroken by the “senseless shooting” at the high school. Members of the council wished the injured student well and thanked the school personnel and first responders.

The council also encouraged young people, their parents and schools staff to take advantage of the services offered by the county and its partners.

McKnight said guns and gun violence are “a scourge” in the county and nationwide.

“We need to keep guns out of our school, but also out of the hands of young people in the community,” she said.

WTOP’s Zeke Hartner contributed to this report.

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