TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) — Chilling confession. New video of the teenage shooter who opened fire inside Perry Hall High School talking about how he planned the attack and why he did it. Fifteen-year-old Robert Gladden was sentenced by a judge Monday.
Meghan McCorkell reviewed the tapes and has the frightening insight.
In those new interview tapes, Robert Gladden admits he’d been plotting the attack for months. Now a judge has sentenced him to 35 years behind bars.
Surveillance images show Gladden pull a shotgun from his pants inside Perry Hall High School’s cafeteria. As he opened fire, teachers rushed in his direction, pinning the teen against a vending machine.
“The pants I had had really deep pockets so I put the stock in the pocket and put it under my shirt,” Gladden told detectives during just released interview tapes.
Gladden told police he warned two friends to leave the school before the attack. He then assembled the gun and walked into the cafeteria.
“I didn’t really have any one person I was trying to kill. I just turned to the side and shot,” he said.
That shot hit 17-year-old Daniel Borowy, a special needs student.
Gladden brought 21 shells with him. If he hadn’t been stopped, he said his plan was to have “gotten to as many as I could and then gotten to kill myself.”
When a detective asked him, “So you wanted to kill as many people as you could in the school?” Gladden nodded his head yes.
In court, Gladden’s father pleaded for mercy, saying he never saw this coming. His lawyer says the teen has issues.
“Now what we’re doing, we’re penalizing people with mental illness,” said defense attorney George Psoras, Jr.
Daniel Borowy’s mother told the judge she now calls the school every single day to make sure her son is okay.
“I’ll probably be fearful for the rest of my life. But that’s just me,” said Rosemary Borowy.
“They’re hurting. We’re hurting. Everybody hurts. There’s no winner,” said Milton Borowy.
Gladden will be 50 years old when he gets out of prison.
During his sentencing hearing, Gladden read a statement apologizing to the Borowy family and asking for understanding.
The victim, Daniel Borowy, has recovered and returned to school in November.
