A Montgomery County teen will spend another year behind bars after writing a manifesto detailing plans to shoot up a local high school and elementary school.
The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said on social media that defendant Alex Ye, 19, birth name Andrea Ye, wrote a 129-page manifesto detailing desires and possible plans to shoot up the two schools. Ye was arrested in April 2024 and convicted of threatening mass violence in January.
On Wednesday, Judge Jill Cummins sentenced Ye to 10 years in prison, with all but a year of it suspended, with five years of supervised probation on release. Ye waived credit for the nearly 14 months already spent in custody, the state’s attorney’s office said.
The five-year probationary period has multiple conditions Ye has to fulfill. Judge Cummins ordered Ye to stay away from Wootton High School, which the defendant attended, and Lakewood Elementary School, the two Rockville, Maryland, schools mentioned in the manifesto.
The judge also ordered Ye to stay off the social media app Discord, to undergo mental health treatment and to perform an unspecified amount of community service.
During the five-year probation period, Ye will also have to return to court every two weeks so that Judge Cummins can verify the terms are being met, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Ye’s attorney Paulette Pagan said in a statement that “we recognize the complexity of this case and the many factors the court had to weigh. This was not an easy decision, and we deeply respect the court’s careful balancing of the facts, the law, and the unique circumstances surrounding Mr. Ye and his case,” according to WTTG-TV.
