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Baltimore County Police Department / AP
Robert Wayne Gladden, Jr., 15, of Baltimore.
PERRY HALL, Md. - A 15-year-old sophomore at a suburban Baltimore high school who made references to murder-suicide on Facebook has been charged as an adult in the shooting of a classmate on the first day of school, authorities said Tuesday.
Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. was being held without bail on charges of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, Baltimore County police said. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 7. The state's attorney's office said it did not know if he had a lawyer.
Gladden's last status update on his Facebook page, posted the morning of the shooting, read: "First day of school, last day of my life. ... f--- the world."
A 15-year-old Maryland gunman was charged as an adult after he shot and critically wounded another student at their local high school. WRC's Pat Collins reports.
His father told The Associated Press that his son had been bullied. Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson said at a news conference Tuesday that he was aware of the reported bullying, but he said Gladden has not indicated in conversations with detectives that bullying was a motive for the shooting. His father did not disclose other possible motives.
Gladden continues to cooperate with investigators and was undergoing a mental health evaluation, Johnson said.
Gladden rode to school on the bus Monday morning with a bag containing a disassembled shotgun, 21 rounds of ammunition and a bottle of vodka, Johnson said.
Steve Ruark / AP
A Baltimore County police officer speaks to a parent as students are evacuated from Perry Hall High School after a student was shot and critically wounded on the first day of classes on Monday, Aug. 27.
When he arrived at school, Gladden went to his first two classes, Johnson said. On the way to the cafeteria, he stashed the bag with the shotgun in a restroom, the chief said. A short time later, he returned to the restroom and assembled the gun, which he then hid beneath his clothes, Johnson said.
Previous report: Student shot at Maryland high school on first day of class
Upon entering the cafeteria, he pulled out the gun and fired a shot toward a lunch table, according to charging documents. A 17-year-old classmate, Daniel Borowy, was struck in the back.
Borowy is a special needs student, according to NBC affiliate WBALTV.com. He remained in critical condition Tuesday at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. His family issued a statement asking well-wishers to keep him in their thoughts and prayers and asking for privacy.
Teachers and school staff rushed toward Gladden, and in the ensuing struggle, he fired another shot that hit the ceiling, investigators said in the documents. The staffers were able to get the gun away from him and he was arrested by a school resource officer.
Witnesses credited guidance counselor Jesse Wasmer with getting the gun away from Gladden.
Gladden sipped from the vodka bottle before the shooting but did not drink enough to become intoxicated, Johnson said.
The teen got the shotgun from his father's house, Johnson said. The weapon was manufactured before 1968 and was of legal length, and police were trying to determine whether it was properly registered, he said.
On his Facebook page, Gladden referred to mass murderer Charles Manson and gave himself the nickname "SuicidalSmile." The page, identified by classmates as belonging to the suspected shooter, was just launched in July, and the three photos of Gladden all show his face hidden behind long, dark hair. He describes himself as a "metalhead" and a fan of musicians Marilyn Manson and Slipknot.
The suspect's father, Robert W. Gladden, told the AP Monday evening that his son was the shooter and indicated his son had been bullied. He gave no further details.
A woman who was also at the home in Middle River and said she was related to the elder Gladden gave the following statement on the family's behalf: "We are horrified. We did not see this coming and our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and the victim's family."
Court documents show Gladden's parents divorced in 2010, reported WBALTV.com. The news station went to the house where Gladden lives with his mother on Monday afternoon; a sign on the door read "We don't call 911," and had a picture of a revolver on it, reporters said. No one in the house would comment on the shooting.
Police also executed a search warrant at the Kingsville home of Gladden's mother and stepfather and arrested the stepfather — Andrew Piper, 43 — on illegal gun and drug possession charges, police said. The charges against Piper had nothing to do with the school shooting, Johnson said, but he noted that Gladden lived part-time at that address.
Classes resumed Tuesday at the school amid a low-key police presence. About 150 students turned out for a prayer vigil organized by local churches on the school grounds. Some students wore T-shirts and bracelets reading "Pray for Daniel" and "Team Wasmer" in reference to the victim and the guidance counselor.
Shane Boyer, 44, who was dropping off his 13-year-old daughter Corinne, said the vigil helped calm students still dealing with the shooting. Boyer said he knew immediately that his daughter was safe after the shooting because he received text messages from her. One read, "Someone just shot a gun in lunch," followed by another that said, "I ran out I am do (sic) scared there's helicopters + cops + we are all outside."
Perry Hall is a middle-class community along the Interstate 95 corridor, northeast of the city of Baltimore. The school is the largest in the county, with 2,200 students.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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"A sign on the door read 'We don't call 911,' and had a picture of a revolver on it," There's your macho-Clint Eastwood take-matters-into-own-hands-Instant-Gratification ROLE MODELING MESSAGE right there! But they 'did not see that coming' ?!?!!
How the NRA loves and feeds on dupes like this....$$$$$$
Maybe starting at just Kindergarten or even pre-school we teach little Johnie and little Sally that if you bully someone, that there is a chance someday that you may be shot at with a gun. Also teach them that it just won't happen at school, but other places too. We need to quit trying to protect our kids from denying them the right to know what really goes on so just maybe they will think twice about bullying someone. All kids are smart enough to know that if someone shoots you that you could die. Lets start scaring the crap out of kids when they are old enough to know what a gun does instead of insultating them from reality. Guns are not going away and neither is this type of news story which seems to happen almost on a regular basis in today's world. Gun control advocates would like you to take away the guns, but all that does is take the guns out of law abiding citizens to protect themselves and property.
What changed in the last fifty years???....................everything............and this is what remains the same.
For anyone who has kids, kids need attention. If they can't get positive attention from their parents, they will do something that will get them negative attention from anybody, because negative attention is better than nothing at all. With nothing.....you don't matter.......or even exist in your head. You feel like your worthless.
Also, with the advent of acceptable violence in their daily lives(music, videos, television, movies, etc.,), that exposure HAS an effect on kids. And killing is becoming more commonplace in society(And it will get worse). A society CANNOT expose kids to this type of environment, hour after hour, day after day, year after year, WITHOUT it affecting them. To think that is ignorant.
Fifty years ago our parents raised us to understand the good in helping each other. The compassion, kindness, and respect that was felt, and displayed toward your neighbor. Today, kids are being taught by their parents that everything is ABOUT THEM. It's about me, me, and me.
Thirdly, when you take GOD out of everything in life, kids learn that there is NO ONE to answer to when the time comes. You teach them that there is no hope. In the end this is what society gets.
Where are the votes for #29?
I agreed with #29 up till the last two sentences. Children need to have/know consequences now not in a supposed hereafter. If we only have this one life it needs to be lived with out fear or being bullied or bullying others. I definitely see that the bullying and teasing that I went thru as a child and young teen is nothing compared to what the kids go thru today. I worry for my godchildren but I will be there for them whatever they need and for whatever their parents need help with.
Why does the paper even print this bullying stuff? I am so sick of everytime someone trys to commit a crime or does commit a crime - right away - it's OH, THEY WERE BULLIED - knock it off - the bullying stufff has run its course and is getting sickening - the media is responsible for printing this garbage - the kids commit crimes because they are bad. Period - Bullying has nothing to do with it - it's just a crutch they are all usinhg now in hopes to get sympathy and get away with their crimes. The media has to quit playing into0 the hands of these criminals and giving them a soapbox to stand on and claim they were bullied - enough is enough - put the little criminals in jail where they belong and quit makaing excuses for them.
Guess Obama organized the Communities in Chicago really well, huh? His side-kick in corruption unable to figure out any answers. The people of Chicago voted Rahm in; they need to vote him out and find someone like Mayor Guilliano to solve their crime problems.
Obama's fault the boy was shot. The boy should have been packing to defend himself.. Thanks NRA
Right its the President's fault that a young special needs kid gets shot by another kid. Not.
Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure clark accidently posted to the wrong article.
No, Clark is just another troll "playing" politics into any post, which he knows nothing about anyway.
Until schools really do something about bullies this kind of thing will continue. I understand the School has its hands tied down but that needs to change. When I went to school if I misbehaved they had a paddle ready for me. The only thing my parents told them was to inform them as well when I misbehaved because I was going to get it again when I got home. Guess how often that happened?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The M generation of kids dont understand or care about consequences. Often there are no real consequences, no deterrent for acting like a bully. If they can and want that's all that matters to them.
The Me generation!
Didn't you know its illegal to spank or paddle your kids. Try it and you will end up in jail. I date further back than you I believe it was a razor strap, mouth wash with soap at home and a paddle in school all illegal today
If that was in Florida the stand your ground law would be in affect !! The sign on the door read we don't call 911 and show a gun !! Shows They are gun idiots . The victim they accuse as a bully was a soecial needs student probably didn't know better than what he was doing. Looks like the shooter was a mental case too. Not sure he should be tried as an adult but doesn't need to be in a home like he has had with gun nuts.
What would you do if you were bullied?
Clayton...re-read the article :)..the one shot was a special needs student but the police indicate that they don't believe he was specifically targeted by the alleged shooter.
I am so @!$%#ing tired of these people that go out and kill innocent people and then they, or their relatives, come out with the excuse that they were bullied in school, abused as a child, under the influence of drugs or acholol, etc.
Why can't they just own up and admit that they are calculated and cold blooded killers!
I was bullied in school, drank alchohol and I never needed to go out and kill a bunch of people that never did anything to me!!
The law or the schools will do nothing about these bullying kids so some react different than others, but this one will be punished and the bully will move on to his next victum.
Kid's get access to guns way too easily. Those responsible for letting them put it in their hands need to be charged with accessory to the crime, such as a parent not locking up their gun and junior taking it to school - the parent needs to be behind bars. Leaving these deadly of tools around and easy to get to and selling them to youngsters also are criminal acts. I don't have patience for them and their excuses, there are unemployed that have more respect for life and safety, they should get their jobs when they go to jail.
You said deadly tools I differ with you they are not tools but deadly adult toys < we ban kids toys that could be dangerous but not adult toys because the NRA says NO<NO
Florida does have a law where the gun owners can be jailed but don't seem it very affective
I'm sure that Florida's law is more effective than no law at all.
Bullied or not, if he did not have access to a gun, the victim would most likely have a busted nose from a fist fight at best. Where did the gun come from, where did the idea that guns are a way to solve problems come from?
Guns are inanimate objects. The do not cause harm or solve problems. People cause harm and/or solve problems. Blaming the gun for shooting the victim is like blaming the pencil for you misspelling a word.
I'm not blaming the gun, I'm blaming access to the gun. Read my post more closely.
Who allowed a minor access to a gun? Was it readily available at his home (seems likely based on the anecdotal evidence of the sign on his home)? Who taught him that a gun was a way to solve problems?
The step father has been arrested on gun charges that is where the 15 year old obtained the gun ...... and it is known that the father has multiple guns as well. The rotten apple doesn't fall far from his trees... Especially with the sign on the door " We dont call 911..." Blame the family mother father and step father.....
The special needs student is not doing well and is still in critcal condition....
My apologies. There is nothing wrong with a minor having access to a gun. I learned to shoot when I was 5. Gun safety was taught first. I was also told never to handle a gun without an adult around. If a friend brought one out without an adult, I was leave and come home immediately.
We did not and do not keep locks on our guns in my house. We educate our family to appreciate and respect them. Guns are tools, not toys. Perhaps this all comes down to family discipline.
If you have unsecured guns in your house, without knowing the ages of your kids, I do think it is possible you are ascribing more maturity and understanding to them than might be warranted by just basic brain development and maturity. And more importantly, if your children have friends in the house, you have no way of knowing what education they have regarding guns or what the rules of your house are or whether these kids will follow said rules.
My personal view- and most likely the legal one as well - if you have minors in your home, your own kids or others, and they take a gun and hurt or kill someone with it, liability and responsibility lay on your shoulders as parent and responsible adult in the house.
You might have the best kids in the world. But kids are kids, teenagers are teenagers, and they do not think about things in the same way adults do.
Why you would choose not to lock the guns in your house is a mystery to me. The dangers far outweigh the benefits.
But that is your choice, as apparently it was with the case of the family of the shooter in this case (well we don't know that for sure, but seems very very likely), and like them, you will have to live with the consequences.
I respect your opinion. I also do not recommed my methods for everyone. We enjoy our guns on a regular basis and do take the time do go over gun safety. My belief is that someone afraid of guns is dangerous around them. Respect for the tool is paramount. Everyone in the house has their own gun. No one touches another's without permission. We are also very wary of anyone we do not know or know their familiarity with guns handling them. Again, a different way of approaching the world.
He found a "Second Amendment" solution. He was "standing his ground." This is what the NRA wants.
Too bad the school does not allow students or teachers to carry. He may have thought twice about being so "brave" and "standing his ground".
Oh yes, sjacobs123, I'm so sure that would have worked. That is the solution for school violence- more guns in schools. Right.
Using a gun to solve a problem is a clear indication of cowardice. Would the person have been as brave had he had to worry whether someone might have been inclined to shoot back? I think not.
Canadians own more guns than the US. The incidence of gun violence in Canada is significantly lower. So, it can be reasonably deduced that more access to guns does in fact reduce gun violence.
sj, ok lets have a shoot-out in a school cafeteria, just mop up the blood and claim stand your ground and oh well for the collateral damage. Wow. No.
Like I said, when was the last time you heard about an incidence of gun violence in a Canadian school?
Still waiting....
Hmmmm... maybe they have never had one.
Something to think about.
So Canadians, who have very strict gun laws, allow kids to bring guns into their schools? Wow. I never heard that. Could it be that you are making something up? This thread certainly has degenerated into absurdity.
Who cares if the kid was "bullied"? Kids can be mean to each other (so can adults). Every kid gets picked on at some point in their life. It is certainly not an excuse to shoot someone.
The kid should be tried as an adult. He made an adult decision to seek out a weapon and plan to bring it to school. He certainly seemed to understand what happens when you shoot someone. Very difficult to claim ignorance or innocense.
bullied - seems to me that's the new excuse everyone is using
When as a culture are we going to stop excusing these shootings by saying he/she was "bullied". Bullying is unacceptable and needs to be stopped, but violence is not the correct response. As a teacher I stopped bullying any time I was aware of it. I'm sure sometimes it was subtle and I know about it. Regardless most do care. If one adult won't help try another. Regardless we must STOP the culture of excusing people by saying they were bullied.
Everytime that I read one of these articles, and the ones just like it, I question just what the hell is wrong with the young people these days?? Bullying as a an excuse for murder? I understand that I grew up in a whole different age, but I never would have thought that I would see, almost on a daily basis, somewhere in the world, someone is getting killed because they were bullied!! We had what they would call bullying when I grew up, that was just a part of growing up. Sometimes it ended up in a fist fight, but most times it never went any further. If you got bullied you could either accept it or go home and start lifting the weights, but damn come on kids it's not worth someone losing their lives over!!! Think about it for a second, does shooting someone really solve the problem? What happens next time you might get bullied. do you shoot them also? Where in the hell does it end???
Doug, bullies are usually trained in the home, I am saying it's not the bully's fault it certainly is, but bullies just don't appear as if by magic. We had a whole clan of bullies at my Junior High School, each one was worse than the other, even in different grades they'd hang together and torment anyone they considered weak. Stand up to one of them get jumped by the others. Finally school authorities expelled all 4 of them, don't know their final out come a lot of years ago. Probably dead or in jail.
I guess we know where he got the gun.
the sign on their front door says it all. they may think it's funny, but it's definitely an indication of their views on gun usage. plus, who would ever feel welcome in a house where they were always greeted at the barrel of a pictorial gun?
this is what all the rhetoric and hyperbole surrounding guns gets us. guns don't kill people, but people don't kill people very easily without a weapon. people kill people with guns. every part of the equation has to be around to really do damage. it's silly to imply otherwise. and it doesn't appear the gun used would be the type i'd see outlawed. i feel certain guns should be banned (high capacity semi-automatics that i've never seen or heard of a law-abiding citizen walking around with or keeping near their bedside).
i know criminals will get guns no matter what, but criminalizing the ones needed to commit the most heinous crimes, when there's absolutely no reason to own one other than to do major damage, isn't going to hurt anyone. if people are found buying them, they can get charged. if people are found carrying them, they can get charged. if they're found in a suspect's home they can get charged. i really don't get what the problem is. it's not like we can carry automatic weapons outside the military, so it's not really infringing on any rights that haven't been subject to common sense already. and each massacre of real magnitude we've seen of late were committed with high capacity semi-automatics.
and these are generally lilly white boys who crack. they aren't hardened criminals who know how to find their way into the black market or even have the guts to enter such a situation. in this case it wouldn't help, but if the kid was carrying such a gun casualties could have easily mounted.
So many bullies out there, and not enough students with guns. It's about time we took down the bullies.
I recently saw a young woman (~23 years old) describing how much fun hazing is. Oh I wish we could turn the tables on her and THEN get her opinion of the act.
George, if that 23 yr. old was mine, I'm still big enough to open a can of whoop ass for some attitude adjustment. Absolutely not acceptable behavior no matter the age.
"I was bullied" is the new defense.
SICKENING !!! So what if this 15 yr.-old was bullied ?? SO WAS I ---I didn't attempt to harm anyone. That is not an excuse. It's questionable if this shooter should ever be free...I know , that sounds harsh. I'll try to calm down---this just makes me angry. What if the injured student had been my child ?
Some very bad thoughts festering in the shooter, I knew exactly when something was bothering my child from day one and I didn't chalk it up to the ever popular "phase." My son is now 25 and I know when things are not right with him even by his tone of voice. It is beyond my understanding how a full time parent can't sense something amiss and gloss over the "phase" stage. Where did he get the firearm? Sign on the Mother's door indicative of the mentally of the Mom, jeez. Hope the young man shot makes a full recovery and sorry for his parents.
I have a friend who is a teacher at the school. She said that the shooter WAS the bully....why parents cover for their kids is understandable, but c'mon--- your son shot someone else! At a certain point, people need to take accountablity for those that they are responsible for. I'm not a parent yet, but I understand people. You can tell when something is going on with someone. Where is the accountability and responsbility in this world?!
Kellie ,
I have a relative in the school and family members who live close enough to walk to the school.... it is all the parental structure and mind set on how to parent and raise children. News reports show that this is a seriously dysfunctional family involved in drugs and illegal guns.
Wow, now there's a surprise! NOT!
@aswiftmom, and @allpeoplerights ..... I totally get it! Of course the family wants to be made out to look liek the victim. It's easier when people "feel bad" for you!
I get the "don't blame the victim" approach in anti-bullying policies. However, at times we do contribute to the way we are percieved by and treated by others and it's a lost opportunity to completely ignore what the so-called victim is doing to their own detriment.
As an example, several students at my son's school, at different times, have been suspended for "bullying" the same child. This child provokes everyone, adults and students alike. He's just an obnoxious individual. He should not be bullied, no question. Kids have ruined his lunch and done other unacceptable things to him in response to his own actions. Because there's a policy against ruining his lunch and the other unacceptable things, the other students have been properly dealt with. Problem is this - the "victim" alienates, offends and annoys pretty much everyone and is not being dealt with. He has some special needs but is not so significantly impaired that he cannot learn how to behave. Because he has an IEP in school, everyone's affraid to deal with disciplining and teaching him better behavior and social skills.
This kid casts himself as a victim all the time, claiming he's being bullied all the time. His own actions are bullying though. He is constantly grabbing and harassing girls, constantly trying to provoke fights with boys, constantly interrupting and interfering with class, constantly making a nuissance and distraction of himself. For example, he asked my son if he was going to eat the roll that came with lunch. My son said, "No, do you want it?" and handed it to the boy. The boy then threw it at my son. A teacher saw what happened and told my son to "keep your stuff to yourself" and gave him a detention for having his food on the floor. When I later talked to the teacher she admitted that the other boy threw it on the floor, but that since he had special needs, my son should have "known better" than to offer the roll. That kind of stupidity keeps this kid from learning how to fit in socially.
We can't give people a free pass for their behaviors just because they are awkward or have some special needs - more resources, support, some exceptions - sure. But if we're going to mainstream these kids, we need to teach them how to manage the social expectations of the mainstream. And certainly, it's appropriate to question the sense of parents making guns available to kids who do not have well-formed judgment and have anger issues - whether the anger is justified or not.
Let's all thank the guidance counselor who dared to step in and stop what could have been mass shootings --