PERSON HELD HOSTAGE AT BALTIMORE POLICE STATION

Drug suspect armed with sharp object at Northeastern District
building; barricade situation follows attack on officer during questioning

A suspect armed with a sharp object barricaded himself in a room with
a hostage after attacking a police officer at the Northeastern
District police station in Baltimore today, police said.

The suspect, who had been arrested on drug charges, was being
questioned by officers around noon when he broke free of his
restraints and attacked one of his interrogators, said Officer Troy
Harris, a Baltimore police spokesman.

Harris said the suspect then barricaded himself in a small office with
a person believed to be a civilian employee of the police station. It
was unclear what exactly the suspect was armed with, but police said
they believed it was a pair of scissors. Hostage negotiators were on
the scene and talking to the man.

At 2:25 p.m., a loud bang was heard coming from inside the police
station. The source of the bang was not immediately clear, but police
said it was not from a gunshot. Department spokesmen could not
immediately confirm whether the loud noise was from a flash grenade
sometimes used by police to disorient hostage-takers.

It was initially reported that the officer who was attacked was taken
to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, but police later said the officer was
taken to Mercy Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The
officer's name was not immediately known.

The Northeastern District, at 1900 Argonne Drive, is on the edge of
the Morgan State University campus and is within sight of several
dormitories. It is also across the street from the Carl J. Murphy Fine
Arts Center.

Police have cordoned off Argonne Drive and have surrounded the station
as they deal with the situation. A SWAT team was on the scene early
this afternoon, as were several ambulances, and a police helicopter
circled overhead.

Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm was also on the scene and was
expected to speak to the media shortly.

Morgan State University spokesman Clint Coleman told the Associated
Press that the effect on the campus had been "minimal."

"No classes have been canceled," Coleman said. "We're just diverting
students away from the police station."