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Man sought in shooting of 2 Md. police detectives found after manhunt Man sought in shooting of 2 Md. police detectives found after manhunt
(about 3 hours later)
A search for a man police believed shot two detectives in Maryland ended Thursday afternoon when authorities in Anne Arundel County announced they had a person of interest in custody. Police in Maryland on Thursday took into custody a man they believe shot two detectives, ending a 15-hour manhunt that forced some schools to close and locked down suburban waterfront communities in eastern Anne Arundel County.
The department tweeted that police “do not believe there is any further threat to our community.” Further details were not immediately made public. The all-clear came in a tweet after 3 p.m. when county police told residents that they “do not believe there is any further threat to our community.” Authorities had urged residents in Riviera Beach, Stoney Beach and Orchard Beach to stay indoors as heavily armed officers searched door-do-door.
The officers were wounded in separate locations miles apart while police were conducting a homicide investigation into the body of a man body of a man found inside a house. As of Thursday afternoon, police had not provided additional details of how the person was taken into custody or whether he or his relatives had heard Anne Arundel Police Chief Timothy J. Alto­mare’s public plea that the gunman surrender and “end this lunacy before another person gets hurt.”
Detectives located the victim’s vehicle near Baltimore and the driver fired on an officer during the initial encounter. Another detective was shot during a pursuit that stretched from Baltimore to more than five miles away in Pasadena, Md., said Sgt. Jacklyn Davis, a police spokeswoman. The county officers were wounded in separate locations miles apart while police were conducting a homicide investigation involving a man found dead inside a home about 5 p.m. Wednesday in Glen Burnie, south of Baltimore.
Both detectives were taken to hospitals, where they were described as being in stable condition Thursday, Davis said. One of the detectives was in “critical but stable condition,” according to police officials. Police said that the person found dead had suffered at least one gunshot wound to the upper body and that his vehicle was missing. Police said detectives spotted that vehicle about 11 p.m. Wednesday near a Royal Farms store in South Baltimore, on the border with Anne Arundel County.
“We’re going to hope and pray with everything we have that they’re going to stay that way,” Davis said. Altomare said the officers “attempted a traffic stop” when the person in the vehicle fired a gun, striking one of the detectives. He was able to pull over and call for help. Another officer pursued the vehicle south for more than five miles, into the central county community of Pasadena and then into Riviera Beach, along the Chesapeake Bay. There, police said, the man ran from the vehicle and shot a second detective.
One of the detectives has been with the department for 22 years and the other for 13 years, according to officials. One of the wounded officers was described as a 22-year veteran assigned to a fugitive apprehension squad. The other has been on the force 13 years and is on a homeland-security team that investigates criminal gangs.
On Thursday, officials closed some schools in the northeastern area of the county because of the “ongoing police search for the shooting suspect,” school officials said on Twitter. Altomare did not say which officer was shot at each location, but he said the officer wounded near the convenience store was initially in life-threatening condition. He credited doctors, saying “fantastic care mitigated the potential threat” to his life.
At a press briefing Thursday morning, police said no weapons have been found at the scenes. Both officers are expected to survive.
Anne Arundel Police Chief Timothy J. Altomare had urged the suspect to turn himself in.,Being on the run makes it more dangerous for “my cops, and thus it makes it more dangerous for you,” Altomare warned. At a news conference Wednesday morning, as the search continued, the chief had only a scant description of a potential suspect and said police had learned few details of the apparent homicide and of the man they were seeking. He described the investigation as lurching “in fits and starts through the night” with leads that appeared promising fizzling out.
“You need to come in and end this lunacy before another person gets hurt,” he said. He also encouraged anyone in the community who may have information on the suspect to come forward to authorities. At that earlier news conference, Altomare said schools in the northeastern area of the county, which stretches from Baltimore to south of Annapolis, closed to keep as few people on public streets as possible. He also urged residents in that area to shutter indoors.
The shootings followed a death investigation that began in the 600 block of Newfield Road in Glen Burnie early Wednesday evening. Police discovered a dead person who had sustained at least one gunshot wound inside a residence, Davis said. Police in tactical gear and carrying assault-style weapons were seen searching buildings and going from house to house. Altomare said as many as 50 officers were involved in the search.
The victim’s name was not immediately released, pending the notification of relatives. Altomare had urged the man to surrender, saying that being on the run made it more dangerous for “my cops, and thus it makes it more dangerous for you.” He added, “You need to come in and end this lunacy before another person gets hurt.”
As detectives investigated the death, they developed a person of interest whom they later tried to detain during a traffic stop near a Royal Farms convenience store just inside Baltimore City, Davis said. The man police attempted to stop fired on detectives, wounding one. On Twitter, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) condemned the violence. “We have absolutely no tolerance for the violence committed against two Anne Arundel County Police detectives last night,” Hogan said. “These brave officers are now in stable condition, and all Marylanders are praying for their full and speedy recovery.”
The wounded detective stopped pursuing the man to seek medical attention, Davis said.
A second detective continued the chase southeast into the Stoney Beach community in Anne Arundel, where the detective and the man exchanged gunfire, Davis said.
The detective was wounded at that scene. The person of interest fled from the car and escaped on foot.
Police officials warned residents to stay indoors and considered the man to be armed and dangerous, although officials stopped short of naming him as a suspect in the earlier death.
Officials said they were searching for a white male, about 6 feet tall, possibly with neck tattoos and bare feet, Davis said. No further details were available early Thursday.
On Twitter, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said: “We have absolutely no tolerance for the violence committed against two Anne Arundel County Police detectives last night. These brave officers are now in stable condition, and all Marylanders are praying for their full and speedy recovery.”
Clarence Williams contributed to this report.Clarence Williams contributed to this report.
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