MARYLAND BRIEFING

Fayne is the county's 13th homicide victim this year, police said.

-- Raymond McCaffrey

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

Invasive Beetles Detected

An invasive beetle that destroys ash trees has been discovered at six sites in Prince George's County this year, Maryland officials said yesterday. At a news conference near one of the infected trees in Brandywine, they cautioned residents to follow rules aimed at containing the pest.

The emerald ash borer, native to Asia, feeds on the inner tissues of an ash tree, damaging its ability to transport nutrients and water. The beetle can be detected by the raised trails its larvae leave in a tree's bark, and by the D-shaped holes left when adult beetles emerge. The beetles were brought to Maryland in 2003 in a shipment of nursery trees from Michigan but were thought to have been eradicated here -- until more infected trees were found this summer in the Brandywine area.

To contain the beetle, authorities advised residents not to buy firewood at a great distance from where they live, not to transport firewood out of Prince George's and not to plant ash trees in the county south of Route 4. Those who believe they have found an infested tree are asked to call the Maryland Department of Agriculture at 410-841-5920.

-- David A. Fahrenthold

Calvert COUNTY

Weapons Found at School

Two 10th-graders in Calvert County were arrested Tuesday after school administrators found two knives and a handgun in a student's backpack.

Officials at Huntingtown High School called a 16-year-old student in for questioning after they became suspicious that he had a weapon, police said. The student opened his backpack to reveal two knives and a 9mm handgun, as well as several rounds of ammunition in another pouch, said Calvert County sheriff officials. He said a friend gave him the weapons at school.

Both students were charged with three counts of possession of a deadly weapon on school property. Their names were not released because of laws protecting juvenile offenders. Police would only identify the second student as a 15-year-old.

"When any type of weapon is found, we must act swiftly and severely with students who take such egregious actions," Superintendent Jack Smith and Huntingtown Principal Robert Dredger wrote in a letter to parents. "We will always advocate for the most serious consequences provided by the law."

-- Megan Greenwell