Police Arrest Man after Dundalk Barricade Incident
Tactical teams were called, school on lockdown before man taken into custody.
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UPDATE (11 p.m.)—Baltimore County police say they have arrested the man who barricaded himself in an industrial building Wednesday after fleeing Kmart and breaking into a Colgate home, causing a disturbance that sent nearby Colgate Elementary School into lockdown.
Authorities had the man in custody at approximately 6:40 p.m., according to a statement from the Baltimore County Police Department.
The arrest followed nearly four hours of police activity in the area, sparked by what officials said was a call about a "disturbance" at the Kmart on North Point Boulevard.
After the police were called to Kmart at 2:28 p.m., the suspect fled to a house on the 7700 block of Eastdale Road, where he used a rock to gain entry into the house, police said.
Nobody was at the house, where the man left through the back door, police said.
He ran to a beer distribution center on the 7600 block of Canton Center Drive and refused to come out, said police.
One employee at the Winner Distributing Company told The Baltimore Sun that a man ran into an office there, holding his neck, and barricaded himself inside.
Police initially believed the man had taken a hostage and was armed. Officials said that "no one was with him when police arrested him" Wednesday night.
During the investigation, Kmart was evacuated and its parking lot cordoned off, according to The Baltimore Sun, as special operations teams used the area for staging.
At approximately 3 p.m., Colgate Elementary School went into lockdown as advised by police, said Chief Communications Officer for the Baltimore County Public School System Mychael Dickerson.
School was dismissed at 4:45 p.m., according to the Colgate Improvement Association, which cautioned: "Please be careful, as this situation has not yet been resolved."
At 5:30 p.m., police said the remaining 250 students who walk to school were allowed to leave and all arrived home safely.
The identity of the man involved has not been released, and police said the investigation continues.
This article was updated after police provided a different location for the address than originally reported.
Stay with Dundalk Patch for updates.
Shell9
3:57 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I have heard so many versions of this. I hope everyone is alright..
Dawn Ohle
4:28 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I was there, he broke in Kmart garden door he was in a rage than went to eastdale rd threw flower pot at a house window n broke that, than went to winner distribution aka Budweiser place and is now holding 5 hostages on the 2 nd floor and a bomb threat .
Billy Heyu
10:08 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
there was never any bomb there were not hostages they were in a different part of the building he did not know they were there.
Shannon Dunford
4:47 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
The school released at 445pm. My daughter is a students there.
Al Day
5:30 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
They should ban semi-automatic schools. You know, schools that lock down without reason. They are scaring the beejesus out of our children for cripe sakes.
Shell9
5:42 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I think the students should be on lock down. It is better to be safe than sorry. This gives the police time to assess the area and who committed the crime, then yes they should be on lock down. Colgate sits just up the hill from KMART. I don't always like/agree with the superintendent, but this was the right call.
Stan Modjesky
6:06 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
How does it protect students to "lock down" a school when a potentially dangerous person is nearby? If that person evades police and gets inside the school, what means is there to prevent another massacre?
Or, let's say there's a running gun fight between SWAT and the suspect. Are school buildings safe from stray rounds fired during that event?
It seems to me that the response should be secure, quick and protected evacuation of the school.
Edgemere resident
7:05 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Stan - not all kids ride buses. That means there would be potentially hundreds of kids walking the neighborhood to go to their houses. the school is the safest place for them especially since most kids don't have a stay at home parent, at least they are protected and supervised
Steve
7:18 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
I wouldn't put this "Trained Law Abiding" guy in a school to protect the students.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/06/guns-school-officer-shoots/1966639/
Stan Modjesky
2:58 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
I thought it was a reasonable question, and I still do. The abusive comments are not appreciated.
FWIW, the idea that a child in elementary or middle school would routinely go home to a dwelling where no adult is present is both incomprehensible and unacceptable.
Kindly refrain from flaming me with all kinds of remarks about the necessity for both parents to work, etcetera. I don't happen to agree with that. In part because that's not how my parents raised me, which admittedly was back in the Stone Age. But also because I see quite a number of parents even nowadays who would not find that situation acceptable.
Shell9
10:16 pm on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
If you have any real idea of how real lock downs work then you would know that the kids are safer in school rather than walking home during all of this. The idea is that every door is locked so no one can get in. The kids are in the class rooms with the door locked. They should and usually are instructed to get down on the floor if the danger is extremely close. In a situation like this I don't believe they were asked to get on the floor but if they did great!!!!. Better safe than sorry. With this said, Stricker Middle was on lock down ( I have a child there) and they were allowing the parenst to ride right in the parking lot and stand around outside while their kids were on lock down. Now I think the Principal should have her head examined and get retrained.
Al Day
1:23 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Meanwhile when they get home their dad beats their mom, who is on drugs and drives with the kids in the car while drunk. So I ask you this, does the lock down really help or is it just butt covering for the officials? And I do know how lock down works. I raised my kids in the midst of all this hysteria. And when the kids become adults a percentage become enraged over all the fear and storm into their local kmart or walmart or whatever. We need to find a better way to deal with mental cases. Where for instance were this fellow's relatives/friends? How can such personality types be ferreted out before they go on rampages that scare the dickens out of the kids to begin with and start the entire cycle over again. If you haven't noticed the schools are ripe with drugs and alcohol use even the elementaries. Parents deny, but it does go on. My kids school used to bring in police dogs on a monthly basis looking for drugs by sniffing the kids which scared the hell out of them. Is any of that normal? I think not and your sarcastic comment/reply is indicative of the type who stick their head in the sand and come up with all sorts of canned solutions that generally only make things worse. I can go on if you want. But I think you get the point. We live in a very unhealthy society and locking down schools, making kids lie face down on the floor and hoping they don't get hurt only breeds more problems down the line.
Shell9
9:43 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013
WOW SO bitter.. I take offense to your comments. There are a lot of good parents in the Colgate/Eastwood community. They don't beat their kids or spouses. Colgate/Eastwood has a very involved PTA. Maybe you raised your kids in Baltimore City. That's your fault not ours. Our kids are AWARE. As well as they should be. Especially from someone who feels the need to hate and fight the Government. I am sorry your dad beat you and you beat your kids but not all of us raise our kids that way.. Parents need to teach their kids to be a part of the solution not mock it and do nothing.
Stan Modjesky
9:46 am on Friday, March 15, 2013
My final comment on the subject: I don't know whether or not a "lock down" of a school is a good or a bad thing, because I have never managed to find it discussed where the conversation didn't quickly deteriorate. On the surface, it seems disturbing to have a safety procedure at a school that has the same name as a safety procedure used at prisons. "Perception is reality," as it has been said.
On the other hand, I attended public school in the era of the air-raid drill, complete with blackout window shades and all of us filing out into the hall to do the duck-and-cover exercise. As if that would save anyone from either a nuclear blast or the after-effects of radioactive fallout.
But once again, we have managed only to exhibit a lot of anger and ignorance in a short span of time, most of it unrelated to the original topic. We have this marvelous, and mostly free, medium for conducting a public conversation, and we squander it.