Harford County Sheriff's Office
Teen Sentenced to 80 Years in Prison for Fatally Shooting Classmate in School Bathroom
A 17-year-old in Maryland was sentenced to 80 years in prison after he fatally shot his classmate inside their high school bathroom.
In addition to the decades-long sentence, Jaylen Prince was sentenced to an additional 20 years on October 14, with all but 80 years suspended, according to a press release from the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office.
State laws did not allow a sentence of life without parole to be granted due to Prince’s age, per the release. However, he won’t be eligible for parole until he serves at least half of his sentence. While Prince is now 17 years old, WBAL-TV reported he was 16 at the time of the shooting.
In May, Prince was found guilty of first-degree murder and related criminal charges in connection to the death of his former classmate Warren Grant in September 2024 at Joppatowne High School.
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WBAL-TV reported that prosecutors claimed Prince brought a loaded ghost gun to school with the intention to shoot Grant. However, Prince testified during the trial that the shooting was an accident and it happened during an argument about a girl, per CBS News.
Prosecutors doubled down on their claims by saying a video showed Prince threatening to kill Grant four times, while witnesses reported seeing him taking the gun out of his backpack and shooting Grant. Prince reportedly fled the scene after the shooting and the gun was never recovered, per CBS News.
Additionally, prosecutors said Prince had a history of violent behavior in school.
Harford County Public School records showed “dozens of incidents of threats toward teachers, multiple attacks and physical violence towards peers, and continuous verbally abusive behavior,” according to the release.
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Before he received his sentencing, a psychologist was brought in to evaluate Prince and concluded he was “extremely high risk for future violence.”
“No sentence will ever bring Warren back to his loved ones or make up for the fact that his life was cut short in the most tragic and senseless way,” State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey said, per the release. “It is my hope that today will help close the hardest chapter of Warren family’s lives and send the message that gun violence will not be tolerated in our schools, or in our community at all for that matter.”
Meanwhile, Judge Keven Mahoney said the effects of the murder will be “profound and long lasting.” He also noted that students should be able to feel safe going to school and gun violence “should not be an acceptable reality.”
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