Girl, 7, among hostages barricaded with wanted man in Baltimore Burger King
An armed man suspected in a recent rape took four people hostage — including a 7-year-old girl — inside a Baltimore Burger King after evading police Sunday, authorities said.
The suspect released 2 of the hostages around 4 p.m. The 7-year-old girl remained inside, police said.
Officers tried to stop the suspect, whom police did not name, to serve him an arrest warrant on the northwest side of the city about 11 a.m., when he sped off and led police on a chase to Washington Boulevard and South Monroe Street near Carroll Park, police said.
The man crashed into another car at the intersection about 11:30 a.m. and ran inside the fast food restaurant, where he barricaded himself and the hostages, police said.
The driver of the other vehicle sustained minor injuries, police said.
Tactical units lined up, guns drawn, along the restaurant's exterior wall. An officer with an assault rifle ordered people to clear Carroll Park. Police taped off the crime scene a block away, and the Foxtrot helicopter unit circled overhead.
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The owner of the Burger King franchise paced anxiously along the police line. He declined to be interviewed.
"Our ultimate goal is to end this peacefully for all parties," Baltimore Police Department chief spokesman T.J. Smith said. "We have our negotiators on scene. We have our SWAT team on scene. We've cordoned off the area for safety purposes."
The restaurant is located in the 1700 block of Washington Boulevard. Police asked motorists to avoid the area.
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Ryan Weinberger, 29, of Glen Burnie, said he was in the dining room as the suspect ran into the restaurant..
"Don't come in here!" the suspect yelled repeatedly after running from the crash, Weinberger said.
The man appeared frantic and was talking on a cellphone, Weinberger said.
Weinberger said he had stopped at the Burger King for lunch on his way home from dropping his sister off in Pigtown.
Weinberger said he heard the crash and walked over to the window to take a picture of it when he realized that police were surrounding the restaurant and the man who'd run in was armed.
He was one of three customers who escaped through a side door after the suspect came in through the front, he said.
"One of the customers grabbed me and said, 'Get out — run,'" Weinberger said.
A young girl with pig tails had been playing a game on an iPhone behind the counter while Weinberger ordered his burger, milk shake and onion rings, he said. He assumed she was the child of an employee who couldn't find day care.
"As soon as I got out, I called my girlfriend," he said. "We have a child together. I was so thankful. I could still be in there."
"You only see this stuff in movies," he added. "It's scary, all those SWAT cops, as many cop cars as I've seen in my life."
This story will be updated.
