Attorney: Teen in Md. school shooting remorseful
TOWSON, Md. (AP) — A teenager charged with wounding a fellow student at his Maryland high school has expressed remorse and was on a suicide watch while being treated at a psychiatric hospital, his attorney said Thursday.
George Psoras made the comments while requesting that a bail review for 15-year-old Robert Gladden Jr., be delayed until he can obtain records from the hospital that conducted a mental health assessment. The judge granted that request.
The Perry Hall High School sophomore faces 29 charges, including attempted murder, in the Aug. 27 shooting on the first day of classes.
Gladden, who has been released from the psychiatric hospital and transferred to a county detention center, appeared wearing shackles at the hearing and did not speak. The teenager wore a black T-shirt with the words “Rock Republic” on the back and had his shoulder-length dark hair covering half his face.
Attorney Clarke Ahlers, who is also representing the student, said after the hearing that Gladden would like to eventually meet with the victim to express remorse for the shooting.
The wounded student, Daniel Borowy, 17, is recovering at home after being released Monday from the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center. At a follow-up visit Thursday, doctors checked his wounds and removed surgical staples. An X-ray showed a number of shotgun pellets that will remain in the torso of the teen, who has Down syndrome.
Borowy’s mother, Rosemary, said she was glad to hear that Gladden was remorseful and would meet with him, but it was — at best — too soon to consider a meeting of the teens.
“Just the thought of him being near Daniel freaks me out,” she said.
Daniel’s father, Milton, said that for him, the odds of the boys meeting were slim. He said that because Gladden had already hurt Borowy, “I never want him near my child again.” Milton Borowy also said he would reserve judgment on whether Gladden regrets what happened until he has seen and heard Gladden express it himself.
Ahlers described Gladden as an adolescent who was alone, scared, depressed and “overwhelmed by his personal circumstances.” Police say Gladden fired a shotgun twice in the school’s cafeteria, but his attorneys have said he brought the gun to school to intimidate bullies and didn’t mean to shoot anyone.
Ahlers also said Gladden was seeking to commit “suicide by cop” the day of the shooting. When asked if the shooting was an accident, Ahlers said Gladden was “in a state of extreme anxiety and his recall is far from perfect.”
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Associated Press writer Amanda Kell in Baltimore contributed to this story.