Showing posts with label Maryland Gun violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maryland Gun violence. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Update on Maryland School Shooting

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.


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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.

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.

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.

Update on Neil Prescott, Joker 'Disgruntled Employee' Who Threatened His Co-Workers

Turns out Neil Prescott, who at one time worked in the Congressional mail room apparently, was released from a mental hospital last week into the custody of his parents.  He is only allowed out of their house for legal and treatment appointments, and he has to continue to attend counseling and take medication.

In other words, he has emphatically NOT received a clean bill of mental health.

He exemplifies the characteristics that are often used to define someone who is called disgruntled - expressing a preoccupation with firearms; accumulating an unusual quantity and assortment of firearms, accessories, and ammunition; making threats and invoking firearms as solutions to conflicts; behaving with hostility or aggression; and behaving in ways which suggest a possible mental instability.

For those of you who are wondering who the heck Neil Prescott is, he self-identified as the Joker not long after the Aurora, Colorado shooting, and was taken into custody wearing a t-shirt proclaiming "guns don't kill people, I kill people", after threatening to load up his guns and kill his former co-workers in a phone call, and indicating he wanted to kill a lot of people in online comments.

He had a private arsenal in his apartment when law enforcement intervened including large capacity magazines, assault style weapons, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, as well as an extensive and varied collection of firearms, itemized below.

From the Pasadena Patch:

Prescott Had Collector Status, Bought Firearms Legally
Maryland State Police said Neil Prescott bought 16 firearms between May of 2011 and July of 2012. He passed all background checks and was permitted to buy more than one gun per month.
August 3, 2012
 
Prescott, a Crofton resident accused of threatening to shoot former employees, did not violate any laws when he bought an array of weapons, including several pistols, revolvers and receivers. Maryland State Police said Prescott passed all background checks required to purchase firearms. His collector status was also properly applied, police said.
Collector status can be granted to to a person who "devotes time and attention to acquiring certain types of regulated firearms for the enhancement of the collector's personal collection," and who does not act as a dealer. Applicants are required to provide a signed and notarized affidavit.
Prosecutors on Thursday issued a warrant for Prescott's arrest on a misdemeanor phone misuse charge, which carries a sentence of up to three years in jail and a $500 fine. He was detained last week after police said he threatened former employees at a Pitney Bowes office in Capitol Heights. Police said they believe they may have stopped a potential mass shooting after discovering a collection of weapons inside Prescott's home.
Prescott remains hospitalized voluntarily for a mental health evaluation.
Here's a list of Prescott's purchases, according to the Maryland State Licensing Division. Note that receivers, which house the operating mechanisms, are considered regulated firearms under Maryland state law.
  • May 14, 2011 – Beretta .40 caliber pistol
  • June 30, 2011 – lower receiver
  • August 13, 2011 – Ruger .357 revolver
  • December 10, 2011 – Springfield .9mm pistol
  • April 10, 2011 – five lower receivers
    - two Kahr Arms 9mm pistols.
  • April 19, 2012 – Saiga .762 caliber rifle
- Ruger .45 caliber pistol
  • June 16, 2012 – Beretta 9mm pistol
- Sig Sauer 9mm pistol
  • June 20, 2012, and July 14, 2012 – Weapons not yet entered into state database.
I don't understand why this kind of behavior is categorized as making terroristic threats here and elsewhere, but not apparently in Maryland; since he has been released and not found a danger to himself or others, or involuntarily committed, it sounds like he wouldn't be included in the NICS data base as dangerously mentally ill or as having committed a felony, so presumably on that basis he could continue to pass an FFL screening.  I find it disturbing that this man could ever have firearms again, or regain his existing weapons.  I find it even more disturbing that if denied legal weapons purchased through a law abiding FFL, the NRA has ensured that there are no background checks required in private transactions, making it both legal and very, very easy for this man, and other disgruntled employees, dangerously mentally ill individuals, or criminals, even minors, to acquire a new arsenal of weapons and ammunition.  Not only are there no questions asked, volunteered answers are ignored so long as the money is good.  Clearly, this is NOT supported by the overwhelming majority of gun owners, including those in the NRA.  But the NRA answers far more to the gun manufacturers who want to sell, sell, sell, and NOT to their rank and file members -- (many of whom don't have voting privileges in the NRA).

If you question this - see the preceding post on what gun owners, including NRA member gun owners, want in the specific area of background checks on ALL gun sales, and not allowing guns to people with mental health issues -- which is more stringent than only denying firearms to those found by a court to be a danger to themselves and others (usally part of an involuntary committment process, a very difficult legal threshold to satisfy)  From a CNN poll:
The poll indicates that two meet with almost unanimous approval: Ninety-six percent are in favor of background checks and 91% support laws to prevent convicted felons or people with mental health problems from owning guns.


The possible charges in Marlyand appear to be relatively trivial for making a death threat over the phone; in related news from the same source:

Prosecutors Handcuffed By Law in Threat Case

The State's Attorney for Prince George's County said she'll fight for tougher laws against making threats, after determining she could only charge Neil Prescott with phone misuse.
The State’s Attorney in Prince George’s County said she will push for tougher laws against people who make threats, after concluding that she could only charge a Crofton man with misdemeanor phone misuse.
Top prosecutor Angela Alsobrooks insisted that local police “saved countless lives” when they detained Neil Prescott last week after he allegedly threatened to kill former co-workers at a Pitney Bowes facility in Capitol Heights. Police also found more than two dozen guns in his home in Anne Arundel County.
The alleged threat took place three days after a gunman opened fire in a crowded movie theater in Aurora, CO, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.
Prescott allegedly said, "I'm the joker, and I'm going to load my guns and blow everyone up."
But prosecutors eventually determined that Prescott had broken no laws, save for section 3-804 in the Maryland Code, which prohibits the use of the telephone to “annoy, torment or harass” someone. Prescott faces a misdemeanor charge and could face up to three years in prison and a $500 fine. Prescott could also face a similar federal charge.
Alsobrooks said Wednesday there is no law in Maryland that makes it expressly illegal to threaten someone over the phone. Moreover, she said there was not enough evidence to charge Prescott with second-degree assault, and all of his firearms were legally obtained.
“I want to communicate that this is insufficient, especially in light of Mr. Prescott’s alleged threatening statements,” Alsobrooks said. “I believe that when people like Mr. Prescott threaten violence, especially in this day and age with all that we have going on, he ought to be facing felony charges, not misdemeanor charges.”
Prescott is currently being evaluated at a hospital in Annapolis. A warrant for his arrest will be served when he is released. Alsobrooks said he will not be able to recover his guns or obtain new ones while his case is being adjudicated.
Alsobrooks also said that if convicted, Prescott will be prevented from purchasing firearms indefinitely.
Laws regarding threats vary from state to state, along with penalties. In the District of Columbia, a threat to kidnap or injure another person could result in a felony conviction and a jail sentence of up to 20 years.
In Virginia, a verbal threat of harm is considered a misdemeanor, but could rise to a felony offense if the threat is communicated in writing.
In New York, making a terroristic threat is considered a felony, and the law states that it does not matter if the defendant had the intent or capability to carry out the threat.
“This situation, as far as we are concerned, highlights the need for tougher laws, and we will be lobbying for it in Annapolis,” Alsobrooks said.
Jason Cleckner, an attorney in Maryland who has worked on cases involving phone threats and harassment, said cases against people involving phone harassment are common. Usually, however, they involve people who are mentally ill or involved in domestic disputes.
Cleckner, who cautioned that he was not familiar with the details of the case involving Prescott, said the defendant's mental health could play a role in how he is prosecuted and whether he will stand trial. Cleckner said Prince George’s County judges have developed a reputation for ensuring that defendants suffering from mental illness are more likely to be treated than jailed.
He said that under current Maryland law, it does appear that charging Prescott with any additional crimes would be a reach.
“That sounds right to me,” Cleckner said. “If he hasn’t done anything, what else could they get him on?”
Cleckner acknowledged that other states may have felony statutes against threats, and said a three-year jail sentence is not a minor penalty.
“If that’s not enough to deter someone from making threats over the telephone, I don’t know what is,” he said.
 

Student Shooting the Morning of the First Day of School

Off to a bad start, how many more school shootings will we have this year because adults do not secure firearms adequately and because firearms are too damned easy to acquire?  There appear to have been 2 shots fired; thank goodness there were not more.

Unarmed teachers successfully disarmed this 15 year old student, who shot another student, 17, apparently at rando. The victim of the shooting is in the hospital; the (alleged) shooter is in custody.

From the AP by way of WLS news:

Baltimore County School Shooting: Student shot at Maryland high school; suspect held

Monday, August 27, 2012
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 in Perry Hall, Md.
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 in Perry Hall, Md. ((AP Photo/Steve Ruark))         

Authorities say a student who was shot and critically wounded on the first day of classes at a Baltimore County high school was shot at random.
Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson said at a news conference Monday afternoon that officers believed that the shooter, who was also a student at Perry Hall High School, fired at random and struck the 17-year-old victim.

Johnson says the shooter took out a weapon he had hidden when teachers and a school resource officer immediately rushed him. Johnson said a second shot was fired. The shooter was quickly subdued.
A hospital spokeswoman says the teen who was shot is in critical condition.
Johnson says the shooter acted alone. Police found the weapon he used but would not say what it was.