Centennial High students robbed at gunpoint during two separate incidents Wednesday

Nov. 10—Two Centennial High School students were robbed at gunpoint while walking home from school in two separate incidents Wednesday afternoon, according to the Howard County Police Department.

The first robbery was reported at about 3 p.m. in the 9700 block of Riverside Circle in Ellicott City. A boy said two people with their faces covered threatened him with a gun, robbed him of his cellphone, then fled, police said.

At 3:05 p.m., a second boy said two people with their faces covered used a handgun to rob him of "belongings" in the 9800 block of Gwynn Park Drive in Ellicott City, according to police.

Centennial High School is roughly 1.3 miles from Riverside Circle and Gwynn Park Drive.

The boys were not traveling together, police department Public Information Officer Seth Hoffman said in an email, though the robberies occurred near each other in a short time frame.

No one was injured in either incident, according to police. Police believe the two incidents may be related, and that they also may be related to an attempted carjacking earlier Wednesday afternoon in the 10300 block of College Square.

Centennial High School Principal Joelle Miller wrote in an email Thursday that students are encouraged to walk with a buddy or in a group; go straight home and check in with an adult; stick to well-traveled streets; avoid shortcuts through areas with lower visibility; not talk to strangers; avoid anything that makes them feel unsafe; and run and yell loudly for help if they think they are being followed.