A teenager charged with wounding a fellow student at his Baltimore County high school has expressed remorse and had been placed 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 hearing for 15-year-old Robert Gladden Jr., be delayed until he can obtain medical records from the hospital that conducted a mental health assessment. The judge granted that request.
Gladden has been released from the psychiatric hospital and transferred to a county detention center.
The Perry Hall High School sophomore faces 29 charges, including attempted murder, in the Aug. 27 the shotgun shooting on the first day of classes.
Police said Gladden fired at random. One bullet struck Daniel Borowy, 17, who has Down syndrome. Borowy suffered a bruised lung and a fractured rib, among other injuries, and underwent several surgeries. He went home from the hospital Monday.
At his hearing Thursday, Gladden appeared shackled and did not speak. He wore a black T-shirt with the words "Rock Republic" on the back and shoulder length dark hair covering half his face.
Attorney Clarke Ahler, 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 attorney 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.
The wounded student, Daniel Borowy, 17, was released Monday from the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was treated for two weeks.
Ahler said Gladden was seeking to commit "suicide by cop" the day of the shooting. When asked if the shooting was an accident, Ahler said Gladden was "in a state of extreme anxiety and his recall is far from perfect."
