Bullied teenager opens fire in Maryland school

Any teacher in Baltimore understands that the early teenage years are a difficult transition time for their students. They are not yet young adults, but are no longer children. Their hormones are just kicking in and their insecurities fight with their bravado on a daily basis. Not every teenager comes through this transition period unscathed.

Recently it was reported that a 15-year-old boy will be charged as an adult for bringing a shotgun to school and firing a shot that struck another student. It was the first day of school and the sophomore was reportedly bullied. The teen is being held without bail. The student who was hit is apparently in critical condition.

The statements from the police and the teenager’s account are different. The police say that the teen fired the shot at random into the cafeteria crowd at Perry Hall High School in Baltimore. The other version of the story is that the teen fired the first shot into the ground and the second shot went off as school staff wrestled the shotgun away from the 15-year-old. The gun was a 1968 shotgun that belonged to a family member.

The teenager’s persona also varied according to reports. His Facebook page shows him hiding behind his hair. Classmates describe him as a Goth. One classmate said the 15-year-old got in trouble during middle school. The teenager’s attorney says that the teen was bullied. The truth may be a combination of all of these views.

In our heightened atmosphere following school disasters such as the Columbine shooting, there may be a tendency to be hyper vigilant. In this case, it seems as though there is no debate on whether or not the teen brought the shotgun to school. What happened after that may be for a jury to decide.

Source: Associated Press, “Teen accused in Md. school shooting described as withdrawn; attorney says he was bullied,” Alex Dominguez and Ben Nuckols, Aug. 28, 2012

At our Baltimore criminal defense law office we represent individuals charged with felonies including attempted murder or manslaughter in addition to other criminal charges such as the violent crime described in this post.