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Judge Denies Bond For Md. Student Accused Of Bringing Gun To School

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- On Tuesday, a judge denied bond for a Maryland student who is charged with bringing a loaded gun to his high school.

Alwin Chen is accused of bringing a loaded gun to Clarksburg High School just one day after the mass shooting at a Florida high school left 17 people dead.

Investigators say a student tipped off a school resource officer that the 18-year-old might be in possession of a gun on the afternoon of Feb. 15. That same student told police Chen had previously brought the gun to school as far back as December 2017.

The officer, along with school security, went to Chen's classroom and escorted him to the school office, where they allegedly found a loaded 9mm handgun in his book bag and a knife in his front shirt pocket, which the student admitted to possessing prior to the search.

It was a Glock semiautomatic handgun he built from parts ordered online and tools bought at Home Depot, The Washington Post reports.

RELATED: Md. Student Says He Brought Gun To School To Guard Against Mass Shooter

Chen's troubling journal entries were revealed Monday.

In one journal entry that was dated May 1, 2017, Chen allegedly wrote, "I might start doing some vigilante operations. I don't plan on killing people, but I'm surely going to hit evil people."

In another entry, which Montgomery County prosecutors revealed in court documents obtained by WJLA, he wrote, "Sometimes I think I am crazy or mentally ill, but I hide it and refuse to admit it because I know how to cope and blend into society, but it's just too lonely."

Prosecutors also say Chen brought a loaded handgun to school almost everyday since December and that he wanted to protect himself in case there was a school shooting.

"Whether or not that's legal is one thing, but certainly is understandable from an 18-year-old child who has had no real experience in the world," said defense attorney David Felsen.

During a subsequent search of Chen's Germantown home, authorities reported finding several guns, ammunition, replica grenades, a detonator for C4 land mines and a ballistic vest and a journal.

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