Police in Maryland investigate influencer's video discussing purported 2013 school shooting plans

Brennan Stewart, The Baltimore Sun on Jan 6, 2025

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BALTIMORE — Bel Air Police Department detectives are investigating a video filmed at The John Carroll School and published on social media platforms this weekend. In it, influencer Dan Hentschel walks campus property and describes memories of wanting to fire an AK-47 into the bleachers during a Homecoming football game in 2013.

Hentschel, 28, with a shaved head and blank stare, begins the 59-second video by shaping his hand into the likeness of a gun before raising his arm and pretending to fire it off into the bleachers.

“I was almost a school shooter. Thirteen years ago, I brought an AK-47 to my sophomore year homecoming game, and I’ve spent thousands of dollars on therapy to figure out why,” Hentschel said.

The video eventually transitions to a clip of Hentschel driving up to the entrance of the school, showing that it is clearly John Carroll. “I had friends. I had a girlfriend. Maybe that’s why I never took it out of the trunk. Maybe I just needed to think about it,” Hentschel said.

In the final seconds of the clip, Hentschel films himself standing in front of a statue of Jesus on the cross. “But I don’t know. I think I just thought it’d be fun,” he said. With his arm raised, Hentschel fires off another round with his finger gun as the video cuts with the sound of a gunshot.

Hentschel is a content creator and posts satirical videos across various social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X and YouTube, with hundreds of thousands of followers on each. By Monday at noon, the video had more than 6 million views on X alone.

The John Carroll School is a private Catholic school for grades 9-12 located in Bel Air.

Bel Air police were notified Jan. 4 by administrative staff at John Carroll about the video and identified Hentschel. The department wrote in a social media post that Hentschel currently resides in Los Angeles, but was visiting relatives in Maryland at the time he made the video.

Hentschel shared the police department’s post on Sunday with the comment, “Hey y’all I need a lawyer!!”

Hentschel was on school property without authorization and is currently faced with a trespassing charge, according to Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore. Bel Air police are consulting the county state’s attorney’s office to determine if additional charges are applicable. Moore said a lawyer representing Hentschel has yet to contact the department.

John Carroll emailed information to families on Sunday about the video and the actions taken by Bel Air police. Parents were notified that there was no immediate threat to the community, and patrols have been increased around school property. The email also said that neither Hentschel nor anyone in his immediate family appears to have access to firearms.

Kathy Walsh, chief advancement officer for the school, would not confirm Monday whether Hentschel had been a student at John Carroll.

“Due to our data privacy policy, we are not able to share information on John Carroll constituents,” she said.

Henstchel did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

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