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  "path": "/news/new-report-exposes-failures-leading-up-shooting-wootton-high-school",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-26T07:41:35.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.fox5dc.com",
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    "Parents question school police officer’s whereabouts during Wootton High shooting",
    "16-year-old charged after shooting classmate at Wootton High School: police"
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  "textContent": "A new report has revealed critical failures both before and during the response to last month's shooting at Wootton High School.\n\nMontgomery County Public Schools’ 50-page \"after-action report\" exposed serious failures, including safety, delayed response and missed warning signs. Part of it went out to parents on Wednesday.\n\n**READ MORE:** Parents question school police officer’s whereabouts during Wootton High shooting\n\nThe report says the 16-year-old shooter interacted with the victim inside Wootton High School for nearly 25 minutes before the attack.\n\nInvestigators also note a lack of supervision, saying the suspect exited and re-entered the building multiple times and even walked through the main office before the shooting.\n\nThe report also reveals that when shots were fired, confusion over the first radio call delayed action. Staff issued a \"hold\" instead of a lockdown, which didn’t happen until a gunshot wound was confirmed.\n\nThe findings also confirm that students and staff stayed locked down for nearly two hours without restroom access, while parents faced conflicting instructions on how to reunite with their children, creating chaos outside.\n\n**READ MORE:** 16-year-old charged after shooting classmate at Wootton High School: police\n\nFOX 5 spoke with a mother who recounted those moments.\n\n\"They couldn’t get a lot of information from the outside,\" said Jill Spivak, who has two children who Wootton High School. \"My daughter didn’t know when the shooter had been apprehended, and that uncertainty increases anxiety because communication inside the building was disrupted.\"\n\nIn response, the school system says they have upgraded radios, tightened hall rules and changed advisory periods.\n\nThe report also notes that MCPS may have deployed too many mental health resources after the shooting, with some students staying home because they felt mental health support was being prioritized over academics.",
  "title": "New report exposes failures leading up to shooting at Wootton High School"
}