Howard County Officials: Two Centennial High School students robbed at gunpoint while walking home
BALTIMORE -- Multiple people—including two high school students—were victimized by robbers and thieves in Howard County on Wednesday.
In Ellicott City, two different juveniles were separately approached by two people wearing masks with at least one of them carrying a gun, according to Howard County Police.
In one case, a juvenile male was approached by two people who may have been females in the 9700 block of Riverside Circle around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. They had their faces covered and demanded his cell phone, police said.
The victim complied and the suspects fled the area, according to authorities.
A second juvenile male was approached by two males who had their faces covered about five minutes later in the 9800 block of Gwynn Park Drive. At least one of them had a gun and displayed it when they demanded the victim's belongings. The victim complied and the suspects left, police said.
Both victims described seeing the suspects leave in a silver Hyundai sedan.
The principal of Burleigh Manor Middle School said in a letter to parents that Howard County Police planned to increase patrols in the area of the school after dismissal on Thursday and Friday.
Principal Allen Cosentino noted that two Centennial High School students had been robbed at gunpoint while walking home from school.
Also, a man in Columbia was the target of two females who displayed a gun and demanded his keys but then fled without stealing anything.
Police believe the attempted theft could be linked because he, too, described seeing a similar vehicle.
"We believe it was a group of suspects," Howard County Police PIO Seth Hoffman said. "It could be some males and some females."
No one was injured during the incidents, according to Howard County Police.