Baltimore (WBFF) — State education leaders say they are committed to improving communication networks to help keep your children safe at school.
It follows an investigation by the Baltimore Project that MS-13 gang member and now-convicted murderer Walter Martinez attended two public schools in Maryland and no one at the schools knew.
For more than a month, Fox45 News has been trying to speak with Maryland Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael Lopez. DHS oversees the state’s foster care system. The Baltimore Project wants to ask Lopez about the lack of contact that allowed Martinez to attend Lansdowne High School in Baltimore County and then Edgewood High School in Harford County in late 2022.
The Baltimore project went to the DHS central office, left voicemails and wrote emails to the communications team. We also asked for the secretary’s calendar of public events to try to talk to him. Nothing. Almost two weeks passed and no response. So the Baltimore Project went to the secretary’s house in Washington and knocked on the door.
Last month, Fox45 News broke the story that after Martinez killed Kayla Hamilton in July 2022 in Harford County, the then 16-year-old was placed in foster care with Child Protective Services under DHS. Martinez remained in foster care as police awaited the results of a DNA test. Although Aberdeen police said CPS was dangerous to Martinez, he was placed in two foster homes and enrolled in two Maryland public schools.
In August, Martinez was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 70 years in prison. However, thousands of students in Baltimore and Harford counties were in class with a dangerous gang member and suspected murderer without knowing it. The school systems also said they didn’t know because DHS didn’t tell them.
With Secretary Lopez not yet ready to explain why schools have not been notified, The Baltimore Project reached out to Maryland Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carey Wright and Maryland State Board of Education President Dr. Joshua Michael.
“Are you concerned about public safety in schools?” asked Project Baltimore’s Chris Papst.
“I think safety is always a concern,” replied Dr. Wright. “As a director. As a leader. Your first priority is to make sure all your children are safe and sound.”
The Baltimore Project asked Dr. Wright whether Baltimore and Harford County schools should have been made aware of Martinez’s violent history when he enrolled.
“You have superiors who ask for that kind of information. They may have made a very different placement decision than a public high school. They could have gone to an alternative school or something of that nature,” Wright explained.
READ | ‘It’s dangerous’: Maryland school unaware of MS-13 student, foster carer not surprised
“What do you say to parents who don’t know who their kids are sitting next to in class?” Papst asked Dr. Michael, president of the state school board.
“To ensure the safety of our students at school, we must do better to ensure that our existing teachers have all the information they need to provide a safe learning environment. We are committed as a board and as a state department to ensuring that these lines of communication are improved,” Michael told The Baltimore Project.
Returning to the Lopez house is nothing. No one answered the door when we knocked. The Baltimore Project left a business card for Secretary Lopez to “call.”
A DHS representative called later that day and said Secretary Lopez would be available for an interview in the coming weeks.
