Two Students Arrested After Weapons Found at Suitland High School Fight

A school resource officer at Suitland High School caught De'Ante Abbott trying to hand off his laptop bag to another student as a hallway fight unfolded Thursday morning. Inside the bag was a handgun.

Prince George's County police identified Abbott as an 18-year-old resident of District Heights. A preliminary investigation indicates he got into a fight with a second male student in a hallway when the assigned school resource officer arrived at the location. The officer observed Abbott attempt to pass the bag to a bystander and, upon searching it, discovered the handgun.

The second student involved in the fight, a sophomore whose name has not been released because he is being charged as a juvenile, pulled out a knife during the altercation and suffered a minor self-inflicted wound to his hand. Abbott was not injured by the knife.

Both students were arrested. Abbott faces adult charges of possession of a handgun, possession of a handgun on student property, and other gun-related charges. He was taken to the Prince George's County Department of Corrections. The sophomore is charged as a juvenile with bringing a knife to school and second-degree assault.

Prince George's County police said the investigation is ongoing. Abbott's booking at the Department of Corrections was confirmed; the juvenile's custody status had not been publicly released.