(NewsNation Now) — A suspect is in custody after police say a male student was shot in a Maryland high school on Friday.
Investigators have not yet released the suspect’s name or the condition of the student who was shot. Both were students at the Rockville school, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones.
The victim was in “serious condition” and undergoing surgery Friday evening, Jones said.
After several hours of lockdown, officials began slowly clearing the building in the afternoon — past the school’s traditional release time.
The situation began at 12:53 p.m. when high school security learned that a male student had been shot in one of the bathrooms, Jones said during a news conference Friday.
Police were called moments later and the school went into a full lockdown with teachers and students closed up together inside the classrooms at 1:05 p.m.
Jones said investigators slowed down and took their time locating the suspect after determining it was not an active shooter situation and there was no immediate threat to other students. Jones was unsure Friday whether the shooting resulted from a dispute between the two students.
Police ultimately located the suspect in a classroom shortly after 3 p.m. The student had a handgun with him at the time, Jones said.
It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was found in an occupied or unoccupied classroom.
Officers are working to determine where the gun came from and how it entered the school. An overall investigation into the shooting is ongoing. No criminal charges have been announced.
A crisis management team will be present at the school throughout the weekend into next week, Superintendent Monifa McKnight said.
“Overall, MCPS schools are safe and incidents like today’s shooting are extremely rare, but when they do occur it requires us to look carefully at what happened. What could have been done to prevent it?” McKnight said during Friday’s news conference.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.