A Maryland teenager was arrested after law enforcement officials uncovered a plot to commit school shootings, officials said Friday. Andrea Ye, 18, of Rockville, who goes by Alex, allegedly wrote a 129-page manifesto detailing the strategy to commit a mass shooting at Thomas Wootton High School in Montgomery County. Ye was arrested on Wednesday.
Investigators uncovered the alleged plot through a review of Ye's writing and internet searches, authorities said. In the manifesto, Ye allegedly wrote about targeting an elementary school and expressed a desire 'to be famous.' Ye also wrote that he wanted to become a serial killer instead of a mass murderer because serial killers are romanticized a lot more, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones.
In the manifesto, Ye expressed a desire to target his former elementary school because 'little kids make easier targets,' authorities said. Ye spent time on Discord chats with others who glorified school shootings, authorities added.
'He clearly had mental health issues, and it would be worth our while to figure out when could we have known, or when should we have possibly intervened,' said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. 'Hopefully, this will lead us to look deeper into what we do for mental health support.'
Ye, a former student at Wootton High School, was also reported to have targeted an elementary school for a potential shooting. Ye was hospitalized in December 2022 after threatening to 'shoot up a school,' and clinicians reported that he was talking about 'suicide by cop' the following month.
Authorities first learned of Ye when the manifesto was shared by someone who knew Ye at a psychiatric facility with Baltimore County police in March. The tipster noticed similarities between the story's transgender main character and Ye. Ye's internet search history revealed search terms related to gun ranges and school shootings, including incidents at Sandy Hook, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida.
During a search of the family home, a gun belonging to Ye's father was found, but Ye did not appear to have access to the weapon, according to Jones. Montgomery County Executive Elrich mentioned that Maryland's strict gun laws may have prevented Ye from obtaining a gun when he wanted, possibly delaying his actions.
Ye, who had not physically attended a Montgomery County Public Schools institution since the fall of 2022, has been charged with making threats of mass violence. He is currently being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit awaiting a bond hearing. Security has been increased at schools across Montgomery County, particularly at Wootton High School.
