Records show accused Md. shooter troubled

TOWSON, Md. — The teenager accused of shooting an intellectually disabled classmate at a suburban Maryland high school was accustomed to firearms in the home and had endured his parents' contentious divorce, court documents show.

After 15-year-old Robert Wayne Gladden Jr. was taken into custody Monday, police executed a search warrant at the Kingsville home where he lives with his mother and stepfather. What they found, according to court documents: 11 guns, including shotguns, rifles, a 9mm handgun and two antique pistols.

Police also found a spent rifle casing in Gladden's bedroom and collected "miscellaneous live ammunition" from the master bedroom where most of the guns were found. Police also recovered marijuana.

A bail review hearing for Gladden, who has been charged as an adult with attempted murder and assault, was postponed Wednesday afternoon because the teen was still at a state psychiatric hospital where he was sent for an evaluation. He is being held without bail, and a new hearing was not immediately scheduled.

According to Baltimore County police, the pale, long-haired sophomore used a shotgun to fire at random in the cafeteria of Perry Hall High School Monday morning. Daniel Borowy, a 17-year-old who has Down syndrome, was shot in the back and critically wounded.

Gladden's attorney, George Psoras, said his client brought the shotgun to school to intimidate bullies and did not intend to shoot anyone. Police have said bullying was not a motive for the shooting. Psoras said Wednesday that he planned to file a motion to move the case to juvenile court.

Court documents indicate Gladden had a troubled home life. His parents were involved in contentious divorce proceedings that stretched over four years and included custody disputes. Documents show his father was behind more than $8,400 on his child support payments.

Gladden's 41-year-old father, Robert W. Gladden, also has a history of trouble with the law. In 2010, the younger Gladden answered the door when police executed a search warrant at his father's home, looking for drugs and guns, documents show. Police seized a 12-gauge shotgun during that search along with marijuana, and prosecutors later sought the forfeiture of the shotgun and a .45-caliber handgun.

Meanwhile, Gladden's stepfather, 43-year-old Andrew Piper, faces new charges of illegal gun possession and drug possession stemming from Monday's search. Piper was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a previous conviction for grand theft, documents show.

According to police and court documents, the younger Gladden brought a disassembled shotgun, 21 rounds of ammunition and a bottle of vodka with him for the first day of school Monday morning. On his Facebook page, he wrote, "First day of school, last day of my life."