A Maryland court sentenced a teen to 80 years in prison after he shot and killed his classmate in a school bathroom.
Jaylen Prince, 17, was sentenced Oct. 14 for the first-degree murder of Warren Grant in Harford County, Maryland, according to CBS News.
In accordance with Maryland law, Prince will be eligible for parole in 40 years.
“This case underscores the serious consequences of violence within our schools,” Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. “When such incidents occur, they not only affect the individuals directly involved but also disrupt the sense of safety and stability that schools are meant to provide.”
It was Sept. 6, 2024, when Grant, 15, was murdered at Joppatowne High School.
Prince, a known troublemaker, brought a pistol to school and followed Grant into the bathroom.
He then threatened Grant at least four times before shooting him.
Prince alleged in court that Grant was the aggressor, and that the firearm went off accidentally.
But State’s Attorney Alison Healey showed a video in court revealing that Prince was the obvious aggressor.
He also had a history of violence, according to WBFF-TV in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jaylen Prince has been sentenced to life in prison, suspend all but 75 years, for the 2024 murder at Joppatowne High School.
STORY: https://t.co/XeCgJk6Goh pic.twitter.com/7oSk1GdgoL
— FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) October 14, 2025
From October 2021 through May 2024, while in the Harford County Public School system, Prince was involved in at least 18 incidents, including physical fights.
Then he murdered Grant, after which Prince was transferred to a detention facility while he awaited trial.
During that time he was involved in an additional 14 incidents, which also included physical altercations.
“That he has this long-standing history of violence that we’ve seen in the school system, and then when we got the records and saw that he is continuing this pattern of violence, all the way up to the trial, after the trial, just that it wasn’t stopping,” Healey said in court.
Jurors found Prince guilty in May.
“He cannot refrain from violent behavior,” Healey said, according to The Baltimore Sun. “His behavior is clear — if he is not incarcerated for a long period of his life, our community will be at risk and someone else will die.”
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