A 15-year-old middle school student was arrested on Wednesday after police said he took a loaded handgun to his school in Hampstead and told an assistant principal that he was “struggling with thoughts of suicide.”

The eighth grade student at North Carroll Middle School was charged as a juvenile with gun possession. Maryland State Police said he voluntarily surrendered the semi-automatic .40 caliber handgun, which was in a lunch bag and had three bullets in the magazine.

“There is no indication at this time that the student had any desire to harm anyone other than himself,” police said in a statement. “There is no indication that anyone else was assisting him or than anyone else even knew of his intent to harm himself.”

According to state police, the teen took the gun to school in his lunch bag and stored it in his locker. Shortly before 11 a.m., police said he took the bag to the lunchroom, but then approached the assistant principal and told him he was thinking about taking his own life.

The school official took the teen to a private room and met with a guidance counselor. “The student handed her a soft cooler bag in which he carries his lunch,” police said. “Inside the bag, the teacher found a suicide note and a semi-automatic pistol.”

Authorities said the guidance counselor call the principal, who alerted a Maryland State Police trooper who was teaching a anti-drug seminar in a nearby classroom. The trooper confiscated the weapon and arrested the young man.

Police said they are investigating who the gun belongs to and how the youth obtained the weapon.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Carroll County
        

Maryland State Police are investigating a domestic fight outside a home in Westminster.

Police said the estranged wife and her 13-year-old son had gone to the house Sunday afternoon to pick up some belongings. During an argument, police said the man, Douglas Harvey, 50, took out a knife and stabbed his wife, Lisa Harvey, 45.

Police said the Douglas Harvey then stabbed himself several times as his wife stumbled across the street to a neighbor's yard. Lisa Harvey was in critical condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Douglas Harvey died from his wounds.

Here are more details from state police:

Continue reading "One dead, one critical after domestic fight in Carroll County" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Carroll County
        

National Night Out has become a big community event, getting residents and cops together to take back the streets. Below is a list of events in the city and the counties, scheduled for today, Aug. 2

National Night outs:

Baltimore City

Baltimore County

Harford County

Anne Arundel County

Howard County

I could only find one in Carroll County, in Eldersburg. Here is a link to details. If anyone knows of more here, please let me know and I'll post.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, City Hall, Confronting crime, East Baltimore, Howard County, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Ever wonder what happens to bodies that go unclaimed, or those donated to scientific research? Every year, they are cremated, boxed and put into the ground during a mass burial at the Springfield Hospital Center, during a ceremony designed to be dignified.

Today, the remains of 600 people will be interred, joining 20,000 others. Reporters Jessica Anderson and Andrea Siegel take a look at the tragic deaths and sad lives of two people -- Stanislaw Ptak and Matthew Jon Ward -- are destined for this field under a lowly grave marker (seen at left in ths picture by The Sun's Gene Sweeney Jr.

Ptak died when he burned himself to death while trying to light a cigarette outside the Canton Safeway last December, the singe marks still there months later, as shown in this picture. Ward was found in a vacant rowhouse on Pitcher Street, and that house too remains vacant.

Ward's mother didn't find her son until years after he had been put to rest in Sykesville, and today she will mourn  Read the compelling stories about Ward and Ptak here. Photos of the vacant house and the singe marks were taken by The Sun's Gabe Dinsmoor.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Carroll County
        

SNOWWWWWWWWWW! !

That's stating the obvious, I know, but it comes via Twitter, courtesy of the Baltimore Fire Department firefighters union #734. It's my way of passing along the latest public safety news!

Not to be outdone, Baltimore police put this up on Twitter: "DRIVING ADVISORY: Winter weather conditions are making area roads very slick. Please drive with care and consider staying home."

Of course, the rank and file firefighters and paramedics would be remiss if they didn't also remind you, again via Twitter, that the city continues to close fire companies to save money. So along with storm news, you get this:

Units closed to save money today are Engine 5 & Engine 8. Engine 43 is closed for maintenance. Use caution walking & driving in winter weather.

Engine 8 operates from a firehouse in the 1500 block of West LaFayette Avenue. The house also has a truck and a medic which are operational Engine 5 is out of the Roman Kaminski station in the 2100 block of Eastern Ave.

But enough politics. The last Twitter from Baltimore police was last night, with a man shot in the back in the 800 block of Lennox St. No word yet on his condition. Meanwhile, Liz F. Kay is reporting that the snow you see this morning is "just a teaser" of what we'll see later today and tonight.

Check out the rest of The Baltimore Sun for more snow news, including accidents and road conditions, and closing information. Or better yet, head to Frank Roylance's Maryland Weather blog, Let's see if the adage prove true -- more snow equals less crime.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Breaking news, Carroll County, Downtown, East Baltimore, Howard County, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Cops don't always like to give out information, often for good reason.

But people like to know what's going on in their neighborhoods, particularly when it's in a small town like Taneytown, and heavily armed SWAT officers are swarming, and an armor-plated vehicles is on the street.

Maryland State Police had just this scenario last week when a man armed with a shotgun shot at a Taneytown officer, hitting him with the casing that holds the pellets, and then barricaded himself inside his home.

State police put out an alert using reverse-911, dialing 188 houses to tell residents to stay inside because of an "emergency situation." Trouble was the call went out att 11 p.m. and the first shots were fired at 7:30. And no call went out to tell people it wa all over by 1 a.m.

At least one resident was upset and her story is told in today's Crme Scenes, along with the barrack commander in Westminster who didn't think the calls were handled too well. Not only that, but telling people it's an "emergency stuation" instead of using plain English -- a man is inside a house iwth a gun -- only prompted more fear and calls to the state police barrack.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Carroll County
        

Back in September, Maryland State Police held a news conference to warn people about using laser pointers to shine lights in the eyes of helicopter and airplane pilots. At the time, authorities in Baltimore County had charged two people with such crimes.

State police just announced another arrest, this time of a man in Carroll County. Here is their statement:

Carroll County man was arrested late last night after he endangered an in-flight Maryland State Police helicopter crew by repeatedly spotlighting the aircraft with a laser.  

The accused is identified as David H. Hopwood, 35, of the 7000-block of Bristol Place, Sykesville, Md.  He is charged with reckless endangerment, attempted second degree assault on a law enforcement officer, and prohibited use of a laser pointer.  

At about 10 p.m. yesterday, State Police Pilot Marcus Alborghini and flight paramedic Trooper First Class Gregg Lantz, were flying in Trooper 3, a State Police helicopter based in Frederick.  The crew was returning from a medevac flight to Baltimore.

Continue reading "Police charge man with pointing laser at copter" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Carroll County