Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Washington College Shuts Down After Potentially Armed Jewish Student Goes Missing

Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland has shut down for 10 days through Thanksgiving weekend after a potentially armed student, Jacob Marberger, has gone missing.

School officials warned students not to return to campus until November 29.

According to CBS Baltimore, Marberger, 19, was last seen November 16 at a Walmart in Pennsylvania after spending the weekend with his family. that surveillance footage revealed he had bought a box of 12-gauge shotgun shells. The police has issued a warrant for Marberger’s arrest and he is wanted on four charges that include “possession of a dangerous weapon on school property, possession of a handgun, minor in possession of a firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.”

The chain of events leading up to Marberger’s disappearance began on October 7 when he was on the receiving end of a prank when someone propped a bucket full of water against his dormitory door. Days later, while intoxicated at a party, Marberger was seen brandishing an antique gun in a nonthreatening manner. After the incident, the Sophomore faced suspension from college, was kicked out of his fraternity and submitted his resignation from the Student Government Association.

Image by WBAL11

A vigil was held at Beth Am Temple in Abington, Pennsylvania yesterday. Roughly 75 attendees sang songs and prayed in the hopes that Marberger will return. His father, Dr. Jon Marberger spoke to reporters, pleading with his son to come home. “You have no reason not to come home,” Marberger said. “Please come home and show yourself. Jacob, wherever you are and whatever discretions you have done they are all recoverable.”

Image by NBC Philadelphia

As a safety precaution, Marberger’s former school, Cheltenham High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, went into lockout mode and remains on alert.

Image by WBAL11

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version