Carjack attempt by man, teen on Gaithersburg street

A 21-year-old man and 14-year-old teen attempted to hijack a car on Jan. 3 in Gaithersburg by stepping in front of a truck and telling the driver to pull over. The 14-year-old proceeded to pull out a gun from his waistband and point it at the driver, while the man banged on the driver side window, yelling at him to get out of the car. Multiple witnesses reported seeing the two of them walk into the roadway on West Deer Park Road, forcing cars to halt in the middle of the street. The two tried to run away when the police arrived, however they were quickly captured. Both have been charged with attempted carjacking and first-degree assault, and both have pleaded guilty to the charges, according to WTOP news.

Free meals given to students affected by government shutdown

Prince George’s County schools are offering free meals to students who have been impacted by the government shutdown over the past few weeks. These meals are available to anyone who requests to have them. Even though the families still need to apply to receive the meals they have sped up the process in order to give out more meals to the students. The county says that if the shutdown continues for a longer period of time they will not be able offer the free meals indefinitely. Originally the county had the plan of ending giving the free meals on Jan. 11. In Montgomery County students can qualify for a free or reduced meal plan based upon their family income. In addition families can also try to qualify for the Food Supplement Program or the Temporary Cash Assistance.

New police superintendent chosen for the city of Baltimore

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh announced that she has chosen a new police superintendent, Michael Harrison, to be in charge of the city’s police department. This was announced a day after her previous pick withdrew from consideration. Baltimore Police has been without a leader since May 2018. Pugh explained that Harrison had done a great job reducing problems in New Orleans. “Superintendent Harrison has achieved clear, compelling and consistent results in reducing violent crime, implementing a federally-mandated consent decree, increasing police recruitment [and] introducing advanced technologies,” Pugh said to the Baltimore Sun. Recently, Harrison informed the mayor of New Orleans that he would be retiring from the city’s department to come to Baltimore.

-Jack Rothenberg, news editor