UPDATE (1:20 p.m., Aug. 28)—Investigators do not believe bullying was a factor in the , according to police.
Baltimore County Police Chief Jim Johnson, speaking at a news conference in Dundalk late Tuesday morning, dispelled rumors that bullying allegedly led , 15, to open fire on his classmates in the school cafeteria.
"We are aware of many reports that the suspect was a victim of bullying. We cannot confirm those reports. Gladden's conversations with investigators have not indicated bullying was an issue in this case. The investigation is ongoing," Johnson said.
Johnson told reporters that Gladden was cooperating with investigators.
Officials used the conference to reveal a detailed account of the shooting, as well as information about Gladden's family members. County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and also answered questions from reporters.
The police chief explained that although there was an incident in the cafeteria before the shooting, where an object—either food or paper—was thrown toward a table where Gladden sat, police do not believe that incident set off the shooting. The students involved had also already left the cafeteria when the shooting began.
Find copies of Gladden's booking photo and charging documents attached to this article.
Johnson said that Gladden arrived at the school on a bus and brought with him a backpack containing a broken down shotgun that could be reassembled. The backpack also carried a bottle of vodka.
Gladden obtained the shotgun, an early-model Westfield double-barrel of legal length, from the home of his father in the Hawthorne neighborhood in Middle River, according to police. No charges have been filed at this time, related to Gladden's access to the shotgun, Johnson said.
While investigators have learned that Gladden, a returning sophomore, was able to have several sips of alcohol leading up to the shooting, they do not believe that he was impaired or intoxicated.
Gladden began his first day of the new school year normally, attending his first and second period classes and heading to lunch during third period, around 10:30 in the morning. Before entering the cafeteria, Gladden stashed a bag containing the shotgun in a nearby bathroom.
Police emphasized that the actions of fellow students in the cafeteria, including reports of something being thrown in Gladden's direction, did not directly lead to the shooting.
In fact, Johnson said, after speaking with Gladden, investigators do not believe that bullying was a factor leading up to the shooting at all.
Around 10:45 a.m., Johnson said that Gladden went to the bathroom, reassembled the approximately 34-inch weapon and concealed it inside his clothes.
He walked back into the cafeteria and drew the weapon, police said. Perry Hall guidance counselor Jesse Wasmer then rushed toward him, but before Wasmer could subdue him, Gladden fired one round, striking 17-year-old , Johnson said.
Other Perry Hall staffers then assisted Wasmer, but Gladden was able to fire another shot, which did not strike anyone, Johnson said. A School Resource Officer then arrested Gladden.
Following Gladden's arrest, police searched the Kingsville home of the boy's mother and arrested his stepfather. Andrew E. Piper of the 8500 block of Bradshaw Road in Kingsville . He is currently free on $500,000 bail. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 3.
Following the press conference, police released the charging documents and Robert Gladden's booking photo to the media.
You can be a good person and not be religious. You can learn morals without church. And you don't have to believe in Yahweh or Jesus to know that killing or hurting another person is wrong. The problem in our country is not a lack of church, but a lack of personal accountability for our own actions and what we can do together as a community, regardless of our individual beliefs.
While the Office of Special Education has not responded to the very real problem that inclusion of special education students is not happening appropriately in our Bmore County schools -- without planning and school wide awareness programs such as Building Bridges or even appropriate training of staff on special needs -- the county does not standardize any approach to promoting positive relationships between students at all. So, no, they aren't about to admit it was a case of bullying. PHMS could very easy be liable (according to school policy) for failing to respond to any history of bullying of either party involved in this shooting.
"Johnson told reporters that Gladden was cooperating with investigators." If Gladden told police bullying was not an issue, I tend to believe the police here.
I'm sorry, but most of this stuff comes down to bad parenting. In my case, it made me a perfect victim. In others, it makes them the victimizers. The cycle of abuse starts early and continues through life. This is why I wrote my Child Abuse blog. Also, I don't think there's any POSSIBLE way that the school doesn't know that there is bullying going on in schools because it's a given, but being a "tattle tale" is something no one wants to be, but maybe more should be. IMO, the parents hold the MOST, by FAR, responsibility because they raise a child that attempted to kill another child for bullying him and the child he shot wasn't even a target, he missed! Father was/is in jail for attempted murder, mother has mental problems, this is what you get. This is why we have so many F'd up ppl running around.
I am *convinced*, without a shadow of a doubt, that parents having kids they have no idea how to raise or were abused themselves as children and never engaged in therapy to work those issues out should not be allowed to have children. It's really that simple. Children under a certain age should not be allowed to have children and adults with abuse or criminal histories shouldn't be either. No one wants to acknowledge these kinds of issues, but THIS is where our CRIMINALS come from, they come from being raised by CRIMINALS or VICTIMS who have not dealt with their issues and pass them along to their children. Why can't we just see that for what it is? More importantly, when do the parents start to take responsibility for raising F'd up kids? No child asks to be brought up in an abusive home. I don't think people should be allowed to have children without the very BASIC screening process and, if needed, ongoing therapy. It just blows my mind that no one wants to TOUCH this issue. Why not??
The government is involved in our lives too much, but they're involved in the wrong ways and I'm not even saying it should be a government agency. Are adoption agencies run by the government? That part I admit I don't know the answer to now that I think of it. I was under the impression that adoption centers were state run. Here's the thing, why should Bobby have free will to NOT get help? I didn't have a choice when I was a child whether I wanted therapy or not because I was a minor. Is this different now? A minor can refuse psychiatric treatment? The school tries to get Bobby help, though not hard enough apparently, and Bobby's parent's didn't care, so this is what happens. Who steps in and says "Hey! We're not going to allow this, either you allow us to give you psychiatric treatment and you do what we tell you to do or you can go sit in juvy or something. You don't just do nothing, how can he refuse anything as a minor? It sounds to me no one really cared about Bobby, not even his own family, no wonder he was so angry at the world and did what he did!
Children put up for adoption have already been abandoned by their parents, abused and taken away from parents or whatever other reasons there may be. Mom was a drug addict and father not around, I'm sure there's many reasons. My question is, what sense does it make to have these strict standards and guidelines that you have to meet, qualify for, and pass to do just about anything in life including have a job or whatever it is you want to do including adopting a child, but you don't need ANY training, any qualifications, anything at all to have children whenever you want with whoever you want. You don't need a license, you don't need training, you don't need to do anything except have unprotected sex and we're just fine with that? This is just completely bizarre to me, Jeanne. I just don't think people really, really understand how widespread child abuse is and how it affects the developing brain of a child, it's PROFOUND.
When your brain is F'd up in this way from abuse, there is no "free will", it's the cycle of abuse. Let me ask you a question. Do you think parents who were not abused as children would ever even think about hitting or sexually abusing their children? Do you think it would even cross their minds to do that? Do you think, if Robert Gladden had a healthy home life and had parents who were sane and cared about him that this would have ever happened? I guess I just feel that having children should be a privilege, something you have to prove you can do before you are allowed to do it. This applies to almost everything else in life, but when it comes to raising children, something more important to society than ANY of those other things, we just say "free will!" Do whatever you want. Why?
The most recent comments are things I generally agree with. I havent read them all. Here's the problem I give you: How do you - legally - prevent the poor from having children? Believe me, I've pondered this same question for years. Why is it people on long term welfare get to pop out 3+ kids, while people who make a hard earned living with both parents working think long and hard over how many children they have - considering their fiscal ability to raise them (among other reasons, obviously). You all know I have solutions or ideas for many problems...but I'm drawing a complete blank on this one. You can't just take away someone's right to pro-create (male or female)...can you? We could apply this to adults who are drug addicts as well, for that matter.
You have to earn the right to drive a car, but you don't have to earn the right to raise children? This, of course, all assumes that all parents are good parents and would not abuse their kids. This is not reality, though. People just go around having sex and I don't think there's much you can do to stop people from having sex, but you can do things to lower the chances that such sex does not result in a pregnancy. If you do get pregnant, you immediately must start undergoing training, testing, and attempting to meet the same qualifications that any couple aspiring to adopt a child should go through. If you can't do that, then give the child to parents who DO meet those qualifications. I guarantee we'd have a better society, less crime and better people overall. That's really the only thing I can think of at the moment, Tim.
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