Baltimore Sun

A 14-hour standoff ended peacefully this evening when an Overlea man gave himself up to Baltimore County police, several hours after releasing three unharmed hostages, authorities said.

A tactical police unit “coaxed him out voluntarily” about 6:30 p.m. today, said Cpl. Ben Yohe. “Charges have not been determined at this point,” he said. The man’s name will be released today, he said.

The man entered the home in the first block of Walnut Ave. about 4 a.m. looking for his girlfriend but didn’t find her, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman. Officers responded to the scene and spotted a man inside the home carrying a “long gun,” Toohey said.

One of the three people held hostage in the home — the owner, Bruce Connelly Smith, 62 — was released about 9:25 a.m., Toohey said. The other two — resident Danille Renee Erhardt, 31, and visitor Kenneth Lewis Collins, 26 — were released about 11:45 a.m., police said, but the suspect remained inside.

Officers set up a perimeter outside the house, which is on a side street near Belair Road. Police also shut down Belair Road between Taylor Avenue and East Northern Parkway, diverted traffic and told residents in the area to stay inside their homes.

A Catholic school near the scene, St. Michael the Archangel, did not open today because of the incident, police said. Toohey said there were no reports of injuries or shots fired.

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Baltimore City police assisted in the incident because it occurred near the city-county line, Toohey said.