A second teenage suspect was arrested this week in connection with the shooting of a Baltimore man who was found dead in a car parked at a Columbia office building over the weekend.

The suspect, a 14-year-old from Severn, was taken into custody at an Anne Arundel County high school Wednesday and charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 26-year-old Kendrick McLellan, Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der said at a Thursday news conference. The teen was ordered to be held without bail at the Howard County Detention Center Thursday, Der said.

At the same news conference, Howard County Schools’ Superintendent Bill Barnes expressed frustration about communication gaps with the state juvenile services that led another teen accused of attempted murder — and also a suspect in the weekend homicide — to end up in Howard High School.

On Tuesday, that 17-year-old from Ellicott City was arrested with a loaded gun in his backpack at Howard High School and charged in McLellan’s death. Der said the older teen’s weapon was a privately made “ghost gun” that was manipulated to be fully automatic and had an extended magazine.

Police believe the shooting occurred around 5 p.m. on Oct. 9. McLellan’s body was found on Oct. 12.

The 17-year-old suspect also was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and was ordered to be held without bond at a hearing on Wednesday. He had been wearing an ankle monitor and was under Maryland Department of Juvenile Services supervision for previous charges of attempted murder in Anne Arundel County at the time of his arrest in McLellan’s death, police said.

Der said the 14-year-old suspect was not wearing an ankle monitor and he did not know any information about a previous criminal record for the boy.

The 14-year-old was detained Wednesday afternoon by a school resource officer at Chesapeake High School in Pasadena after Howard officials informed Anne Arundel police that the student was sought in connection with this case, according to a message written by that school’s principal, John Yore.

“Given recent events around the nation, I feel it important to tell you that prior to leaving our premises, the student and the student’s belongings were searched. No weapon of any kind was discovered,” Yore wrote in the message. “Because the student was immediately located and detained by the SRO, there was no disruption to our instructional schedule.”

Police believe that McLellan drove both suspects to the location in Columbia after picking them up from a residence in Ellicott City, Der said. The victim and suspects knew each other, Der said, but a motive for the shooting has not been identified.

Regarding the 17-year-old suspect who was arrested at Howard High while wearing an ankle monitor, Barnes expressed frustration with the Department of Juvenile Services.

Barnes said though HCPSS was aware that a student from a neighboring district receiving support from the DJS was enrolling in the school system last spring, no one was aware that the student had been charged with attempted murder.

DJS did not provide information about the “history or nature” of the student’s criminal charges, Barnes said, and HCPSS only found out about the attempted murder charge during a bail review hearing Wednesday.

Barnes said he would not have approved the student’s placement at Howard High School if more information about the suspect’s charges was made available.

“Do I think that a student who is alleged to have committed first-degree murder should be in our schools? I do not, and my placement decision would have been different and reflected that,” Barnes said. “And so that is the gap that I will doggedly work with elected officials, or our community members, our police force and the Department of Juvenile Services to try to close because that placement decision can’t be hindered.”

The school system is aware of 48 students enrolled who have committed reportable offenses, have been detained or have been committed by DJS, Barnes said. He has asked staff to conduct a case review for each.

Some of the 48 students are placed in HCPSS schools and others are detained by DJS, Barnes said.

The school system takes seriously its legal responsibility to educate all students between the ages 5 and 21, Barnes said, and would consider virtual learning options for students involved in similar criminal cases.

Barnes said he is forming an external school safety and security advisory group and charging them with delivering “any and every solution on the table.” The advisory group will have students, staff, police, county officials, parents and community members and make recommendations to the Board of Education, he said.

“We will all need to work together and spend our time identifying the gaps that exist in existing systems that limit my ability to provide education to all students well while keeping all students and staff safe,” Barnes said.

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