An investigation by officers of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Police Department has resulted in the arrest of a Rockville teenager for allegedly planning to attack two area schools.
Alex Ye, 18, who is reportedly trans and has the legal name of Andrea Ye, allegedly authored a 129-page manifesto detailing plans to execute mass shootings at an elementary school and a high school, the New York Post reports. Ye was arrested Wednesday.and faces charges of making threats of mass violence.
Ye allegedly told his former school counselor that he wanted to become “famous from this event,” according to ABC News.
The student had claimed the memoir was a work of fiction — which included a disclaimer that it doesn’t “represent the author’s beliefs” — but a person with whom the student shared the document alerted authorities because it bore “striking similarities” to the writer.
According to court documents cited by ABC News, the witness told authorities that the writing was about “a transgender main character” named “James Wang” who was “being bullied in school and other issues that [the witness] believed were directly from Ye’s life and not indicative of fiction.”
Police said they found worrisome social media posts and internet searches by Ye, including allegedly searching “gun range near me,” descriptions of an AR-15 and the phrase “But, I do recognize that my plan is fully unethical. It’s selfish and evil,” according to the outlet.
There’s no allegation that Ye had possession of any firearms up to the time of his arrest, ABC News reported.
The person who shared Ye’s writings with Baltimore cops on March 3 and Ye both received treatment at a psychiatric facility in Maryland, WJLA reported.
WTOP reports that court documents say Ye was hospitalized in December 2022 for threatening to “shoot up a school” and was reportedly preoccupied with thoughts of self-harming, school shootings and explosives.
Ye was evaluated at his home and then hospitalized again in March 2024, shortly after the police investigation began, as part of an emergency evaluation petition, the court records show. The hospital then raised an alarm with school and law enforcement officials because of "the threat posed by Ye."
A counselor who had worked with Ye told authorities that he "would express violent thoughts such as shooting up the school" and "would smile while saying it," according to court documents.
Montgomery County Public Schools report that Ye has not “physically attended” a MCPS school since fall of 2022. He is reportedly taking classes in a virtual program.
