Guns were discharged at two Montgomery County Public Schools during the 2025-26 school year, Superintendent Thomas W. Taylor revealed in a safety letter to families on Wednesday, Aug. 12, two weeks before the first day of school.

Taylor's letter, first reported by MoCoShow, also cited unsecured exterior doors and vandalism motivated by hate biases as serious safety concerns from the past year. He did not name the two schools.

"We experienced incidents involving the discharge of firearms at two schools," Taylor wrote. "We also had some other really scary safety concerns, such as doors that should have remained secured were not, vandalism with hurtful hate biases, and several other issues."

The disclosures land as families at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Walt Whitman High School and Walter Johnson High School prepare to send roughly 155,000 students districtwide back on Tuesday, Aug. 25. MCPS has not identified whether any Bethesda-area schools were among those involved.

What Taylor is asking families to do

Taylor urged parents to review the district's Standard Response Protocol with their children before school starts. The protocol, outlined on the MCPS emergency preparedness page, uses five actions: Hold, Secure, Lockdown, Evacuate and Shelter. Schools practice drills throughout the year.

On firearms specifically, Taylor asked families to ensure any guns in their home, or in any home their child visits, are stored unloaded, locked and with ammunition kept separately. He also warned that look-alike firearms, knives and pepper spray are prohibited on school property.

Families can report safety concerns anonymously through the Maryland Safe Schools Tip Line. Taylor directed parents to review the district's Hate/Bias protocols and the updated 2026-27 Student Code of Conduct.

Broader gun concerns in the county

The disclosure fits a pattern. Montgomery County Police Chief Marc Yamada said on July 28, at the signing of a county firearms law amendment, that officers seized more than 3,000 firearms and responded to over 600 shooting incidents countywide between 2023 and 2025, with some crimes involving ghost guns in schools.

Phone ban starts this year

Separately, Taylor reminded families that MCPS is implementing its "No Cell, Bell to Bell" policy this school year, restricting student phone use from bell to bell including during lunch and passing periods. The policy follows the Joanne C. Benson Maryland Phone-Free Schools Act, signed into law May 26, which gives local boards until Sept. 1, 2027 to finalize enforcement. MCPS is moving ahead of that deadline voluntarily.

Taylor also cautioned families against relying on social media during emergencies, warning that posts can "create fear, confuse families, and make it harder for emergency responders and school staff to do their jobs."

The first day of school for all MCPS students is Tuesday, Aug. 25.