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A Northwest High School football player armed with a handgun robbed a peer in the school's bathroom on March 25, triggering a fight with the victim and his adult brother the following day at the Germantown school, according to police.

David T. Katembwe, 17, followed a 17-year-old student into a school bathroom around 10:15 after seeing him sell a cell phone to another student and demanded the cash, according to a Montgomery County Police statement. The 17-year-old gave Katembwe the money after he showed him a handgun tucked in the waist of his pants, police said.

Katembwe could not be reached for comment.

The student didn't tell anyone what happened until 10:15 a.m. Thursday, when he called his 23-year-old brother to tell him he was scared of Katembwe, according to police. He let his brother into the school by opening a locked side door, police said, and the two went looking for Katembwe.

The three got into a fight in the hallway in front of the school's auditorium, and an unloaded handgun fell out of Katembwe's jacket, according to police. The fight was broken up by Northwest's education facilities officer, a county police officer assigned to the school, and school security staff, police said.

Katembwe did not have any bullets, police said.

A handful of students at Northwest have approached school counselors to talk about the incident, according to Northwest Principal Sylvia Morrison.

"It's very alarming and very upsetting, but sharing information with students and encouraging them to be proactive in their community is helping them to be calm," Morrison said Friday. Both students will be suspended, she said.

Katembwe, a junior at the school, plays defense on Northwest's varsity football team and received an honorable mention on the 2008 All-Gazette football team.

Katembwe, of the 19900 block of Sweetgum Circle in Germantown, was charged as an adult with armed robbery, carrying a handgun on his person, possession of a handgun in the commission of a felony, possession of a handgun by someone under 21, theft under $500 and possession of a firearm on school property, according to police.

He is being held on $250,000 bond.

The 23-year-old Germantown man was charged with trespassing and disruption of school operations, both misdemeanors, and released, according to police. Police did not release his name to protect his brother's identity.