Ten miles from the White House, at William Wirt Middle School in Riverdale, Maryland, the MS-13 gang runs wild, treating the middle school like a Salvadorian prison.
A recent article in the Washington Post focuses on the growing presence of MS-13 gang at the school, where gang-related fights happen near daily, " the overwhelmingly Hispanic school in Prince George's County throw gang signs, sell drugs, draw gang graffiti and aggressively recruit students recently arrived from Central America, according to more than two dozen teachers, parents and students. Most of those interviewed asked not to be identified for fear of losing their jobs or being targeted by MS-13."
One eight-grade told the paper that, last fall, she was raped by MS-13 members at her school, and that she was so fearful of repercussions that she didn't report the incident.
"We now have two to three fights per day," one instructor told the Washington Post. "At this point, it's completely out of control."
As of May 1st, the Prince George's County police have been called to the school 74 times throughout the school year, resulting in at least five arrests.
As of May 1st, the Prince George's County police have been called to the school 74 times throughout the school year, resulting in at least five arrests. The teachers live in fear, unsure what outbreak of violence will happen next. One teacher described the school administrators' approach to the gang violence as "don't ask, don't talk about it." And, without metal detectors, teachers, like the students, live in fear of what awaits them.
"Teachers feel threatened but aren't backed up. Students feel threatened but aren't protected," one educator said. "The school is a ticking time bomb."