At MacArthur Middle School in Fort Meade, officers found a 12-year old packing a bag containing a handgun, a loaded magazine and loose ammunition.

Because the suspect is 12, he will not be criminally charged.

Maryland’s new juvenile justice reform law now bars police from charging 12-year olds with many crimes, including bringing a gun to school.

Senator Jill Carter sponsored the legislation which was adopted by lawmakers last year.

“The issue is that Maryland was over-prosecuting children and treating them as adults and over-incarcerating children, and that was not rehabilitative,” said Carter.

At a town hall meeting Thursday night, Baltimore’s new State’s Attorney, Ivan Bates, suggested the state needs to get tougher with juvenile offenders.

“You have a juvenile who commits a murder, there’s still a family who lost a loved one, are we just going to look the other way? The answer is ‘no’. We have to begin to hold juveniles accountable,” said Bates.