Metro Briefs

MARYLAND

KENSINGTON

Six people charged in school gun firing

Six people have been charged after a gun went off and other weapons were found Wednesday at Albert Einstein High School, police said yesterday.

Five students at Einstein, ranging in age from 14 to 17, and a 20-year-old who does not attend the school were charged with burglary, reckless endangerment and gun infractions.

Police said a handgun went off accidentally in a boys bathroom where five students had gathered to examine guns they planned to sell. No one was injured, but the school was locked down for several hours.

Three guns were later found during a police search, along with knives and martial-arts weapons.

The guns had been taken from the home of one of those charged, a 15-year-old girl. County police said the girl and her 15-year-old boyfriend took the guns to school in hopes of selling them. The boy was showing the guns to potential buyers when a 14-year-old boy accidentally pulled a trigger.

Police said a fourth stolen gun was given to Raul Garcia, 20, of Silver Spring, who considered buying the gun. He faces several gun-related charges.

The 14-year-old and the two 15-year-olds were charged as juveniles. Police also charged Jose Ramos, 16, of Silver Spring and Geovani Lazabara, 17, of Silver Spring, as adults.

Authorities do not know what the buyers planned to do with the guns but said those involved in the sale had ties to two gangs. Police also reported “friction” between gangs last week at Einstein.

RIVERDALE

Second suspect arrested in stabbing

A second suspect in the fatal stabbing of a student outside Parkdale High School last week was arrested yesterday afternoon in Annandale.

Police from Prince George’s and Fairfax counties arrested Rony Izaguirre-Henrique, 18, at a home. He is charged with first-degree murder in the April 2 death of Guillermo Medina, 15, and is being held pending an extradition hearing.

Rony Izaguirre-Henrique’s 18-year-old brother, Walter, was arrested on the day of the stabbing and is being held without bail.

According to court documents, witnesses told police that Walter Izaguirre-Henrique drove the car and that Rony Izaguirre-Henrique got out and flashed a gang sign before stabbing Guillermo on a sidewalk.

BALTIMORE

Schools seek help to stem violence

The beating of a high school art teacher by a student has prompted city and school officials to call for more resources to deal with classroom violence.

Art teacher Jolita Berry was beaten in an attack at Reginald F. Lewis High School that was recorded on a cell-phone camera and posted to the Internet. Miss Berry said the attack happened after she told a girl to sit down and behave. Miss Berry said she is afraid to return to the classroom.

Teachers union President Marietta English said her office receives two or three complaints a day of assaults on teachers.

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon said the problem is getting out of hand and stern discipline is needed. State Schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick called for increased character education, community partnerships and parental responsibility.

City schools officials said the student involved in the attack on Miss Berry was suspended.

HAGERSTOWN

Guard hospitalized with staph infection

A state correctional officer is being treated for an aggressive, antibiotic-resistant staph infection that is fatal in rare instances, the prison agency said yesterday.

The officer from the medium-security Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown was diagnosed Monday with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus, or MRSA, Johns Hopkins Hospital said.

The Hagerstown Herald-Mail, citing documents it obtained, reported that doctors think the exposure most likely occurred at the prison.

Mark Vernarelli, a spokesman for the state Division of Correction, said prison employees were notified almost immediately after the diagnosis.

He said the rate of MRSA infection in the state inmate population in February, the most recent month available, was two per 1,000 inmates, well below the rate of 46 per 1,000 hospitalized Americans.

NEWBURG

Man dies in fire despite rescue effort

A 55-year-old double amputee died in a fire in his house yesterday morning.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph Zurolo said searchers found the remains of James Thomas Jr. in a first-floor bedroom of the house on Butler Road. The fire was reported at about 5:15 a.m. Investigators said Joyce Thomas tried unsuccessfully to rescue her husband and suffered burns to her arms, legs and feet. She was transported to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va.

Marshal Zurolo said the couple’s 28-year-old daughter and 3- and 4-year-old granddaughters jumped from a second-floor window to escape the fire. They were sent to Civista Medical Center in La Plata.

CUMBERLAND

Woman’s call saves homeless man

Cumberland police credit a woman who heard screams for help with saving the life of a homeless man who was being beaten.

The woman who heard screams beneath the McMullen Bridge ran to a gas station and called police at about 4 a.m.

When officers arrived, they found Benjamin Berry, 23, Brian Shafer, 20, and a 16-year-old boy standing nearby. Mr. Berry and Mr. Shafer are charged with attempted first-degree murder and assault charges. If the juvenile is charged as an adult, he faces the same charges.

Police said they also found a baseball bat, three knives and a steel bar at the scene.

Lt. Greg Leake said the woman saved the life of the man, who is being treated at Memorial Hospital for severe injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

HAGERSTOWN

8 more guards fired in brutality probe

The state prison agency fired eight correctional officers at the maximum-security North Branch Correctional Institution near Cumberland yesterday, bringing to 25 the number of workers terminated in a continuing investigation of brutality accusations at two institutions.

The latest round of dismissals follows the firing of 17 officers since April 4 at the medium-security Roxbury Correctional Institution near Hagerstown.

A criminal investigation at both institutions, led by the Maryland State Police, is continuing, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services said. None of the unidentified officers has been charged.

“Having to fire this many officers at two prisons is certainly not only highly unusual, but deeply troubling,” Public Safety Secretary Gary Maynard said. “But this has not been done recklessly or hastily. It’s been done because the investigation has shown serious violations of departmental policy. No one is happy about these situations, but we cannot tolerate violence against our officers or inappropriate behavior by them.”

The firings at North Branch stem from accusations that as many as seven inmates in the gang Dead Man Inc. were beaten after they were transferred from Roxbury on March 6 for fighting with officers.

The Roxbury firings stem from reports of abuse by guards on two successive shifts March 8 and 9. The inmate required hospital care.

Labor leaders have called the investigations haphazard and said the firings have demoralized prison workers and taken jobs away from officers who haven’t been charged or convicted.

ANNAPOLIS

City Dock spaces get parking kiosks

Old-fashioned parking meters are about to disappear from City Dock.

Starting next week, visitors will use computerized kiosks to pay for parking. The terminals accept cash, coins and credit cards. They dispense a receipt that customers place on the dashboard of their vehicle.

Similar machines are in use in Baltimore and the District and were given a trial at City Dock in 2005. It took nearly three years for the city to arrange funding to buy the machines.

Parking rates won’t change.

WEST VIRGINIA

CHARLES TOWN

Oldest WWI veteran gets burial exception

The federal government has bent the rules: Frank Buckles, the last living American-born veteran of World War I, can be buried at Arlington National Cemetery when he dies.

At 107, Mr. Buckles is the last surviving American-born veteran of the war. Though he was eligible for cremation and placement in a columbarium, his daughter said that’s not what he wanted.

Susannah Flanagan said friends took up the cause, calling and e-mailing the Pentagon, the White House and others for an exception.

On March 19, Mr. Buckles received a letter saying he may be buried in the ground at Arlington.

Burial normally has several criteria, including earning one of five medals. Mr. Buckles, who was a teenager, never saw combat.

At 15, he visited a string of military recruiters, lying about his age until he convinced an Army captain he was 18.

Mr. Buckles spent his tour of duty working mainly as a driver and a warehouse clerk in Germany and France.

DISTRICT

Dump-truck parade protests fuel prices

About 100 dump-truck drivers blared their horns on Capitol Hill yesterday, hoping to get the ear of Congress to protest high fuel prices.

The truck drivers circled the Capitol and drove in a loop around the Mall several times demanding relief.

One truck had a sign attached to the side that read “Fair Compensation.” The drivers say the cost of fuel is hurting their livelihoods.

Truckers took to the roads throughout the country for similar protests last week.

From wire dispatches and staff reports