On March 20, 2018, at
approximately 7:58 am, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland State
Police personnel responded to Great Mills High School, located at 21130 Great
Mills Road, Great Mills, Maryland, for reported shots fired inside the
school. Upon arrival, three individuals
were discovered suffering from gunshot wounds.
Preliminary investigation
determined on March 20, 2018, at approximately 7:50 am, Austin Wyatt Rollins,
age 17, of Lexington Park, entered the school, where he was enrolled as a
student. Several minutes after entering
the school, Rollins shot a 16 year old female he was acquainted with, in the
school hallway, gravely injuring the female victim. A 14 year old male student who was in the
same hallway was shot in the leg. The female victim sustained life threatening injuries,
and is currently in critical condition at University of Maryland Prince
George’s Hospital Center. The male
victim was transported to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital for treatment and was
discharged on March 21, 2018. The
investigation is continuing by detectives from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s
Office Criminal Investigations Division (CID).
At the time of the shooting,
School Resource Officer Deputy First Class Blaine Gaskill, was at the school,
and responded to a report of a person with a gun. Dfc. Gaskill located and confronted Rollins,
who was still armed with a handgun in a nearby hallway. Dfc. Gaskill fired one shot at Rollins, who
simultaneously fired a shot as well; Rollins sustained a life threatening
injury from the exchange.
Rollins, and the victims were
provided with medical attention at the scene; Rollins was subsequently
transported to University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center, where he
succumbed to his injuries. Rollins was
transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, Maryland
for an autopsy.
All indications suggest the
shooting was not a random act of violence. Rollins and the female victim had a
prior relationship which recently ended. The investigation has not yet
uncovered any public social media posts/threats made by Rollins. Detectives are continuing to interview
friends, family, and associates of Rollins to obtain further information. Once all facts are collected and verified,
information will be disseminated to the public.
Investigation has determined the handgun utilized by Rollins in the
shooting was legally owned by Rollins’ father.
Anyone with information
pertaining to this case is asked to contact Detective Melissa Hulse at (301)
475-4200 extension *1996 or by email at melissa.hulse@stmarysmd.com,
information may also be provided to 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). If anyone has photographs or video of the
incident please send to FBI.gov/greatmills.