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.
I've seen this kind of sentiment over and over among the shoot-first crowd and the more intransigent "gotta-carry-wanna-shoot-'goblins" crowd, with goblins being a dehumanizing slang from among gun nuts for people the right wing radicals want to shoot / execute by themselves, rather than participating in the justice system.
On the face of it, do you think this kid most likely saw and heard unhealthy and unrealistic and unhealthy examples from adults in that home on the topic of what firearms are and what they properly are for? Apparently some gun owners of the more rabid variety don't favor participating in the criminal justice system, but instead favor taking the law into their own hands. Where do we tend to find that unhealthy and uncivilized approach to both crime and conflict? Anyone want to venture a friendly bet these are ignorant rednecks of the far right birther/truther pro-guns anti-government variety?
So it should come as no surprise this is also part of the article below:
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.
As I have pointed out before, more than once, guns that are acquired by those who either are prohibited from having guns from mental illness, criminal past, illegal immigrant status, and drug use can get them easily through private transactions, either from original purchasers who obtained them legally but then sell without any questions asked or background check, either in person, over the internet, or at gun shows as private sellers. In this case the (alleged) shooter appears to have taken an inadequately secured firearm from his father's home in the shooting. Those who engage in gun violence alternatively obtain weapons from family or friends.
Want to make a bet that, at the very least, Gladden's mother and stepfather share conservative views of the ignorant red neck variety common to birthers, evolution deniers and other truther stupidity?
I hope that readers will join us in condemning this stupid, destructive, pointless violence, and in praying for the poor kid who was shot in the back on his first day of the new school year for no apparent reason.
From NBC News and the AP:
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."
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.
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.
I've seen this kind of sentiment over and over among the shoot-first crowd and the more intransigent "gotta-carry-wanna-shoot-'goblins" crowd, with goblins being a dehumanizing slang from among gun nuts for people the right wing radicals want to shoot / execute by themselves, rather than participating in the justice system.
On the face of it, do you think this kid most likely saw and heard unhealthy and unrealistic and unhealthy examples from adults in that home on the topic of what firearms are and what they properly are for? Apparently some gun owners of the more rabid variety don't favor participating in the criminal justice system, but instead favor taking the law into their own hands. Where do we tend to find that unhealthy and uncivilized approach to both crime and conflict? Anyone want to venture a friendly bet these are ignorant rednecks of the far right birther/truther pro-guns anti-government variety?
So it should come as no surprise this is also part of the article below:
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.
As I have pointed out before, more than once, guns that are acquired by those who either are prohibited from having guns from mental illness, criminal past, illegal immigrant status, and drug use can get them easily through private transactions, either from original purchasers who obtained them legally but then sell without any questions asked or background check, either in person, over the internet, or at gun shows as private sellers. In this case the (alleged) shooter appears to have taken an inadequately secured firearm from his father's home in the shooting. Those who engage in gun violence alternatively obtain weapons from family or friends.
Want to make a bet that, at the very least, Gladden's mother and stepfather share conservative views of the ignorant red neck variety common to birthers, evolution deniers and other truther stupidity?
I hope that readers will join us in condemning this stupid, destructive, pointless violence, and in praying for the poor kid who was shot in the back on his first day of the new school year for no apparent reason.
From NBC News and the AP:
Cops: Maryland school suspect brought 21 rounds of ammunition, vodka to school
Baltimore County Police Department / AP
Robert Wayne Gladden, Jr., 15, of Baltimore.
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."
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.
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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