Teen gets 35 years in school shooting

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BALTIMORE, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- A teenage Maryland boy has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for shooting a student in a high school cafeteria last fall.

Robert Gladden 15, was convicted last week of injuring Daniel Borowy, 17, last August at Perry Hall High School during an aborted shooting spree with a shotgun, The Baltimore Sun reported Monday.

In sentencing Gladden, Baltimore County Circuit Judge Robert E. Cahill Jr. cited continuing fear in the Baltimore suburb of Perry Hall and the national debate about school safety.

He also highlighted Gladden's jail phone calls and visits with his family in which the teen was recorded saying he wished he had attended the Connecticut elementary school where 26 people were shot to death.

Prosecutors had asked that Gladden be given a life sentence.

School administrator Kathleen Watkins testified during the sentencing hearing one teacher only recently returned to work since the shooting and 75 students refuse to eat in the cafeteria.

Gladden read a letter apologizing to Borowy's family. He called the shooting an accident and said he was "only asking for understanding."

George Psoras Jr., Gladden's attorney, said his client was in need of psychiatric help.