Jeanne do you have kids? I do. I have three teenage boys. They are not like Bobby, but if I didn't give them the love and attention and encouragement and nutrition and medical attention they need, they certainly could be. Mental imbalances run in my family. I, myself, border on dementia and without medications and proper nutrition and CONTROL of the condition, it will destroy me - just like any other illness such as cancer, HIV, leprosy! Just because you can't physically see the disease yet with our medical probes and microscopes doesn't mean it's not VERY real and has VERY real symptoms and physical painful effects. I would bet my life that Bobby has neurological problems. Diet, activity levels, long exposure to repetitive video and sound , lack of light exposure, verbal abuse, emotional abuse all play key roles in serotonin and endorphin levels things that keep a person happy, motivated, responsible and wanting to live. You mess with that combination and you get people like Bobby. Apparently his parents had no idea and didn't think there was anything wrong with their dark, sad, moping, lethargic child who craved happiness but couldn't find it and wallowed in all of the things that represented death - his only relief from his painful mental hell.

Bobby is obviously troubled but if the chance exists he could be tried as a juvenille is ridiculous. Where are the rights of the victim? He will suffer with the effects of this for the rest of his life.

I hope this is what happens. He needs help. And even being in a secured facility with medications and staff who understand his condition could be life saving/changing for him. What a sad, sad story.

If the Sunpaper said it, it must be true. They check and doublecheck everything they print, and never print any false, incorrect or misleading information.

The only thing the sunpaper is good for is eating crabs,

That judge is SPOT ON! The boy is a predator. It doesn't matter how he got to that point, he is there now. As I stated before, a parent who's child grew up with Gladden said he was a problem since day one.

Rightttt. Listen, if someone wants to die so badly they'll just up and kill themselves. He seems like a little bitter emo kid who was all angry at the world because mommy and daddy didn't pay attention to him and the kids at school thought he was weird. You know what though? That's life. Everyone suffers at some point or another. So many kids come from situations just like this one. These things happen and you have choices you can make. If he wanted to end his life so badly he could have very easily just taken that gun and shot himself. He could have reached out and said hey I need to talk to someone. I need help. He didn't though. Instead he took that gun to school and shot a mentally disabled kid (Who may have not been who he was aiming for, but he intended to shoot someone, don't delude yourself on that one). He's a coward. And for the record, you are incorrect, the gun didn't go off when police tackled him because guess what? The police didn't tackle him. A teacher did after he fired the first round and then a second round went off as they pinned him against a wall.

And you think he's going to be scarred? What about Daniel? The INNOCENT in this. Your sympathy is woefully misplaced and the fact that you're more concerned about some douche that decides that violence is the answer to his problems instead of the innocent boy is depressing. He deserves to be punished, not coddled.

Another Bleeding Heart the jerk still intended to shoot someone no matter when some lying scum defense ambo chaser says. He is noting but a gutless punk!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EG, I don't think society would be any worse if he were to just kill himself. If I were his prison gaurd instead of taking his shoe laces I would let him have them and then tell him why we take most other peoples shoelaces.

What good is this fool going to do for us as a society. Yes, his parents probably ruined him, but that does not make him any less dangerous. He is broken and if he acts out by shooting people he deserves to die.

EG, Don't give me this crap that Daniel was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was where he was suppossed to be, in school eating lunch and not bothering anyone. "Poor Bobby"....give me a break, he wasn't the one who ended up with a large hole blown in his body. How about the kids who are scarred emotionally from having to witness this, or the parents that had to be mentally tortured wondering if their kids were okay? Does this boy need help? Of course he does. Because unfortunately, one day he will walk out of jail and potentially be a threat to others. Here's an idea, how about you let him live with you when he gets out.

Daniel was in the wrong place at the wrong time? For crying out loud - He was in a high school cafeteria eating his lunch. The only kid that was in the wrong place at the wrong time was Bobby. He had no business being in that school. He was an armed predator and Daniel is the victim in this whole mess.

He fired the first shot. It did not go off accidentally. The second shot went into the ceiling of the school. This is fact.

Hi E.G. I do have a child and I am very proud of him. I have been a volunteer in B.C.P.S. for 15 years now and have a degree in early childhod education. I have been around students, over the years, that have a terrible home life but not one of them brought a gun or any other weapon to school. Bobby brought 21 shellcases because the last one he wanted to use on himself. He wanted to use the other 20 on students, staff, or causing damage. What he did do was load the shotgun and shoot a young man (my understanding is Daniel was never his target) and if it weren't for a guidance counselor who stopped him from shooting another student who knows how many people he would have shot. The shooting caused panic and in the panic other people were injured. There was never a report of Bobby asking about the boy he shoot or their family until he got a lawyer so we know that is the lawyer talking. Bobby was well aware of what he was doing, he had too much time from getting on the bus til when he was stopped to think about what he was doing and he did it anyway. You are right Bobby does need help but he also needs to go to jail for what he did.

this is true...and yes this child was bullied by many different ppl, students and family..this child acted out as the only way he knew how...i blame his parentsand the school system for not getting him the appropriate help that he needed before it got to this point...he said he wanted to die by the cops but i also believe if he did not intend to harm any students then he would have brought an empty gun, if it was really his intentions. we may never know exatly what was in his mind but what i do know is that we as a community need to wake up and pay attention to the generation and give them the guidance and help that they need before something tragic like this happen. let this be a lesson to all! words do hurt, and they cut deep, but guns in the wrong hands take lives. cure the problem before it festures into situations like this.

Honey, you know absolutely nothing about me. I WAS the outcast kid and can definitely sympathize with the depression, anxiety, and other issues. I came from a broken home and I went through many of my own mental issues which I dealt with. In fact, that's the whole reason I have no sympathy for him. He lost any right to sympathy the moment he took a gun into that school with the intent to shoot someone. You can say what you want, but he took twenty rounds of ammo with him. He came prepared. And again, you fail to realize that there were two shots fired. The first one was the one that hit Daniel. The second one that went off by accident when he was tackled hit no one.

We all have choices. He choose to use violence instead of seeking help. Have you seen his facebook page? Are you aware that he had the Columbine killers listed as "inspirational people"? (You seem like you'd cut them a break too. You know they were bullied too. I guess that means they wouldn't have deserved jail if they lived.) That his job was listed as "Murder/Suicide with the Manson family"? He's very obviously a boy that was deprived of attention and became reclusive and bitter about it. He had every intention of going out with a bang (literally). You don't seem to see the larger picture of him. Waste your sympathy on someone who deserves it because he doesn't.

LOL...so you blame Bobby's behavior on some speculation that he didn't eat whole grain bread or green vegetables? Do you even believe this crap that you write?

First, If he wanted to committ suicide by cop, he wouldn't need ammunition, only the gun. He brought a shotgun and shells to school. He broke down the gun to be able to conceal it. He had a plan. That's intent! Also, there are cameras in the cafeteria. I seriously doubt he would have been charged with 9 counts of attempted murder if the SA didn't have the evidence to back it up. I am confident the shot was BEFORE he was tackled. I don't think anyone is disputing the fact he is troubled, but the FACT is he DID bring a gun to school, He DID pull the trigger, He DID bully other children his WHOLE school carreer...starting in first grade!!! He WAS suspended - SEVERAL TIMES. He DID spend most of 8th grade at alternative schools. What don't all you bleeding hearts understand?!?!?!?

EG,
As a parent of a child at PHHS I must let you know your info is incorrect. The FIRST shot that was fired by Gladden hit Daniel. As Mr. Wasmer tackled Gladden, another shot was fired into the ceiling. Anyway, does that really matter?? This boy has had issues since Elementary School and should not have been allowed to attend school alongside the rest of our sons and daughters. Aren't our children allowed to go to school and feel safe? Gladden has a well DOCUMENTED history of altercations with fellow students for many years. Why does one troubled child seem to have more rights than the entire student body at PHHS?? The issue isn't who is to blame for his problems...Our children need to be protected from students like this. My priority is not Bobby, My priority is my son who had to send me a text message on his first day of school that there had been a shooting. Everyone's worried about "poor Bobby". What about the other 2200 kids and their families?! My child attended school with him from first grade, he was not bullied like people think he was. Bobby threatened other students. Other kids were afraid of HIM. How can you even say he didn't mean to shoot anyone? He took a shot gun and 21 bullets to school. He went in the bathroom, LOADED that gun and returned to the cafeteria, pulled the trigger. He changed alot of young lives that day. No more excuses!

I never said I was bullied. I said I was an outcast. With my own set of problems. Which DID require medicine and years of therapy. Like I said, you don't know the first thing about me. And yes, I do think he's weak. Weak cowards choose violence. Strong people do what they need to to make things right.

If I could point to one cause of our great country’s downward slide I would point to people like you EG. So many people always want to pass the buck, blame someone else, and never look inward. This is wrong, and it needs to change. If you are even well enough to work EG, I bet you are the person who is always mad at your mangers and coworkers for you not getting ahead, not that it would never be your fault.

I think the consequence should fit the crime, and maybe we should have both his parents killed too. Who knows, seems they are not great people anyhow. Maybe it would be doing them a favor because I can’t imagine wanting to live if one of my kids did something like this.

Sounds like you people want to adopt Sharia Law........

Yeah Steve Sharia Law is exactly like killing someone who kills another person. I’m not saying that if a girl shows her ankles she should be beheaded.

Nice try.

Ryan, I work and have worked full time jobs with my kids. I don't have much time for me and I never blame anyone for my lack of effort. No one is harder on me than me. I only have a little more compassion for people considering what their problem is. Naturally, if someone steals and then tries to hide it and it was purely a selfish thing that went too far, you know punishment and rehabilitation is possible. If someone is so far gone that they lose grip on reality and go on killing sprees and think about killing themselves, there is something wrong. And with a child - that should not happen. It's obviously abnormal and he needs help. Kids don't understand things like adults do. They don't recognize problems and feel the need to seek treatment. With our age comes understanding and responsibility to seek help. My own 14 year old son would not recognize a need to get a physical doctor checkup or pay rent until he experiences the need for it, understands it and has to do it himself. That's why humans don't leave their young at birth like some other animals can and they just survive. They need assistance for many years. In Bobby's case, YES it was his parents fault and the fault of any other adults that noticed his behavior and had an input and didn't do enough - like school guidance, doctor's, coaches etc who had him in their care. That's not passing the buck. That's placing blame where it's due.

EG if any students went to school with Bobby they know his history and as far as being treated for it the school system did try but they can only do so much, they are not his parents. Again this goes back to the parents, how did he get out the door of his father's and possibly his mother's house with a shotgun, 21 shellcases, a bottle of vodka on any day? (I say possibly his mothers because we know he got the shotgun from his fathers house but I dont know which house he was at that morning) Why wasn't the facebook checked by his parents or one of the 14 friends he had that morning say something to an adult? Both good questions but I don't think we will ever get the answers. Yes Bobby needs help but he ALSO needs to pay for his adult crimes and go to jail. You have to understand Bobby is a minor so his parents were made aware of all the problems, had to sign lots of things and still did nothing. Bobby is NOT a child and needs to pay as an adult.

. This is a child who had a terrible life from birth with father and stepfather involved in guns and drugs and crimes and violence. That was his home. Isn;t it interesting that the kids knew he was being bullied and harassed and humiliated but not one teacher ever saw anything? Not one teacher or adult or school counselor that he had in his 10 years of schooling could ever think of one single positive thing to say about him! Not one. What happened to the bullies who were making his life in school a hell? They are the catalysts who are causing so much friction and desperation in children and students who have no adults to guide them. Why wasn't the father or step father who practically placed the rifle into his hands not charged. They couldn't charge the father or step father or the bullies or the teachers to whom he was invisible but they charge this boy with VODKA!!!! That just shows he is getting railroaded. He is a child and they want to murder him by the law of our state? They think that he should be in prison with drug pushers and murderers and thugs and rapists. Guess what is going to happen to him? I would commit suicide if that was my horrible future. I pray for him and for miracle against this mob.

The only therapy this scumbag needs is to be placed in maxium security and poassed around like the B***& he is

I didn't seek help for my issues until I was in my twenties. I'd say that negates your "difference". I know many people that came from broken homes, had crap parents, and have a chemical inbalance. None of them react with violence. He displays sociopath tendencies and doesn't belong in society. What don't you get?

You need to give kids more credit, they understand more then you think. Most of the teenagers I am around understand you have to go to the doctors for a check up, they understand you have to pay your bills on time in full, they understand they have to do their studies or get a lower grade, if you have a job you can't be late and have to follow the rules or you get fired. Why doesn't your 14 year old son understand such common sense things? Not trying to be mean just don't understand.

E G, there were early reports that Bobby was in therapy after his parent's divorce. Unless you are his parent, caregiver or therapist, how do you know if he has ever had prescriptions or what his condition is? I have two children with developmental disabilities and there is no guarantee that someone with or without a "condition" of any kind could snap. Decent, hardworking people who have never exhibited a violent moment in their lives have shown up and killed their former boss who handed down a lay off notice. Men have lost their jobs and faced the loss of their home and the inability to provide for their family and shot them all in a fit of sudden depression and anguish. There is no precursor to predict this sort of thing. Just because he had to eat wonder bread instead of Nature's promise and canned corn instead of green beans has nothing to do with this. He brought that gun to school to KILL SOMEONE. If you just want "suicide by cop" then why bring all those shells? I have decades of experience with mental illness and children with special needs, so you so obviously have an agenda here pertaining to this boy. Blame belongs with Bobby and those who chose to raise him the way they did have to live with themselves. I cannot believe you said that Daniel was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was a young man eating lunch in school. No one said "no compassion for Bobby" but please, he's guilty.

I think he belongs in jail. Should we let Manson out? He's a sociopath. I'm sure we could "rehabilitate" him too.

Why would anyone be executing him? He didn't kill anyone. ????

I am curious if you would feel quite as charitable to poor young Bobby if it was your child that he shot.

I'm not trying to make enemies with you either. I just majorly disagree with you. He's got problems, I don't think anyone would disagree with that, but I don't believe that sticking him in a mental health facility until he's twenty one is the answer. Had it not come to such a drastic scenario it could be feasible, but he went to the school with the intent to kill others and be killed himself. He almost succeeded. He's lucky that boy didn't die or he'd be in a bigger mess than he already is. What good is rehabilitation without punishment? All that shows is that you can blame it on a mental illness and get away with it. He deserves to spend his time in jail for the crime committed. He can get help while in prison, but he needs to be put in jail not a hospital. Actions have consequences and a slap on the wrist for what he did is unacceptable.

*is not the answer

Nice that your story turned out well, but the answer to dealing with violent, erratic people isn't always love and nurturing. That is playing with fire, and eventually someone can end up getting burned, badly.

EG,
Just curious, don't you feel a need to keep your children safe from a known threat such as Gladden. BCPS policy states that a student may return to school after one year's expulsion after using a firearm on school property. Do you want YOUR child riding the bus with Gladden? Do you want YOUR child sitting next to him in Math class? Do you want YOUR child eating lunch with him in the cafeteria? The excuses are what led to this problem to begin with. He was given access to a social worker, a guidance counselor and a school liason. How many chances to you give someone. Don't you think it's enough already? At some point Gladden should be kept away from society. At what point do you think that is???

Actually, I now feel very pathetic that I fell for the troll known as E G. Good job, you had a lot of us going for a while there.

Indeed. If it is actually true, there are some weird psychiatric issues going on in that household.

Who's gonna make Bobby alright? Well, he wants to be a thug. There are plenty of thugs where he's going that will help him out with his wishes.

A school age child/teenager has the righ to an education and it can not be taken from them for extended times because of behavior. That is why they have these other schools they are sent to & Bobby attended but if the student appears to be okay they can not leave him in these schools til graduation. Also because Bobby is a minor at least on of his parents had to sign off on everything so they were aware of what was going on. Don't blame the school system blame the parents.

We really need to put the notion he was bullied to rest. HE WAS NOT BULLIED - HE WAS THE BULLY!!! Ask anyone he went to elementary school with, ask the administrators that sent him to an alternative school for most of the 8th grade. Ask the HS principal. MANY teachers saw what was going on. That is why he was in and out of alternative schools throughout Middle school. The kids in his grade were happy every time he got suspended (translated more than just a couple of times)because there was less bullying going on.

As far as giving the kids questionnaires, the anti bullying program in the school system is non-existant. It ammounts to lets put the bully and the child that was bullied in fromt of each other and saying, "shake hands and agree not to do it again". It's a disgrace!

Let's all take off our rose colored glasses and take a dose of reality.

Amen <[:-)

You are the "ignorant" person. Bobby was not being bullied, he was the bully. Bobby was also rude to people who tried to be nice to him. He has a long history of being a problem. The first shot was in fact not a warning shot and did hit Daniel in the back, other students would have been shot if it wasn't for Jesse Wasmer stopping Bobby. Get your facts straight before you mouth off and sound nasty. Bobby was not "alone" many people tried to help him but he ignored them all. Bobb was not "intimidated" in school. PHHS is in Baltimore County not Baltimore City and it is a good area were people do not run around with guns showing them to people. Bobby brought a shotgun and a lot of amunition to school. He loaded the shotgun and shot another student and was stopped before he could shoot anyone else. Bobby seriously injured Daniel and other students were physically injured as well. Bobby needs to go to jail for his crimes.