Police have arrested and charged a transgender teenager who was allegedly planning to commit a school shooting at a Montgomery County school, according to officials.
Andrea Ye, 18, of Rockville, Maryland, was arrested by Montgomery County police on Thursday following a joint investigation with the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office, law enforcement officials said in a press release.
That probe was launched after police were made aware of a “memoir” Ye allegedly authored which portrays a character committing a school shooting and strategizing about how to carry out the act, police said.
Ye also contemplated targeting an elementary school in the memoir and wrote about becoming famous, according to law enforcement officials.
“A search warrant obtained by MCPD led to internet searches, drawings, and documents related to threats of mass violence,” police said. “As a result of the investigation, the Montgomery County Department of Police – Community Engagement Division coordinated with Montgomery County Public Schools to increase security at schools, particularly Wootton High School.”
Ye was taken into custody and charged with threats of mass violence, police said.
According to a statement of charges, Ye is a biological female and has a preferred name of Alex Ye.
Suspect Made Previous Shooting Threats
Ye told the witness that she had finished writing a “book,” described as a “fictional story/manifesto about a high school shooting,” and wanted to share it with the witness, according to the statement of charges.Ye shared a link to the manifesto with the witness, who began reviewing the 18-chapter book.
The witness noted “striking similarities” between the main character in the book and Ye, according to the charging documents, which noted that the story centered on a transgender main character who was being bullied in school and other issues that the witnesses believed were “directly from Ye’s life and not indicative of fiction.”
The witness said the book suggested the shooting was going to take place “the next day,” and informed police immediately as they believed the shooting was imminent.
Police then conducted a welfare check on Ye at her home, where her father told officials that he was not concerned with his son’s current mental status and insisted the book was fictional; although he acknowledged he had not read it.
The charging documents note that Ye was previously hospitalized in December 2022 for threatening to “shoot up a school,” as well as with “homicidal and suicidal ideations.”
Ye was set to be released one month later but it was determined that she was still preoccupied with self-harm, school shootings, and explosives, and after she “made statements referring to suicide by cop,” according to the charging document.
‘Little Kids Make Easier Targets’
Ye was referred to a crisis center by a Wootton High School therapist after Montgomery Police learned she had purchased a BB gun online without her parents’ knowledge for the purpose of “suicide by cop.”The charging document also provides a glimpse into Ye’s internet search history, which included searches for terms including “gun range near me” a “written description of AR-15” and more, with police noting she had also spoken about the Columbine High School shooting on the Discord messaging platform in a group chat dedicated to “glorifying school shootings.”
Elsewhere, the charging document reveals excerpts from Ye’s manifesto, including one section in which she wrote: “I have also considered shooting up my former elementary school because little kids make easier targets. And, I run the risk of getting attacked or tackled midway through with high schoolers.”
“I also hated elementary school,” Ye continued. “The teachers were evil and the other students were little assholes. I always got in trouble and had to sit out during recess. The other kids would pretend to be my friends but make fun of me to my face. It would be the perfect revenge.”
Ye is currently being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit where she awaits a bond hearing.
It is not clear if she has an attorney. The Epoch Times has contacted Montgomery County police for further information.
