Maryland Students to Create Love Mural at Shooting Site

Students who witnessed a shooting in a school cafeteria on the first day of classes in Baltimore County will create a mural to help with the healing process.

The art will be an extension of the Baltimore Love Project, which has 15 murals around the city. Each shows the word "Love," with the letters formed by a silhouette of a hand.

One student, Robert Gladden, is accused of shooting another, Daniel Borowy, in August at Perry Hall High School. Gladden, 15, was arrested and is being held at Spring Grove Hospital Center in Catonsville. Borowy, who has Down syndrome, was critically wounded and only recently returned to special education classes.

Borowy, 17, and the other students in his lunch period will install their "Love" message Dec. 13.

Artist Michael Owen and Perry Hall students are working on a distinctive design, Scott Burkholder of the Love Project said. Burkholder and Borowy's father, Milton Borowy, said Daniel Borowy will have a special place on the wall.

"The interest for the community was the notion that the cafeteria was a space that had, in many ways, been violated," Burkholder said. "This will enliven and add this artistic element to a space that has bad memories and a negative taste."

He said the mural can help the healing process by being another point of conversation.

The parent of a Perry Hall student is a fan of the Love Project and contacted the project shortly after the shooting about creating the piece to unite the community and call people to love, Burkholder said. Sponsors are donating about $10,000 for costs that include supplies and T-shirts for Perry Hall's more than 2,200 students.

The Perry Hall art is a side project to the Baltimore Love Project, which has a goal of 20 outdoor installations.