Police Search For Armed Suspect Who Attacked Speed Camera Vehicle Near BW Parkway
LINTHICUM, Md. (WJZ)-- Terrifying moments on 295 spark an intense manhunt after a screaming man armed with a shotgun and hammer began attacking a speed camera vehicle parked on the side of the road.
Derek Valcourt has the latest on the incident and the search for the suspect.
Police spent hours and hours searching but the suspect who attacked a speed camera vehicle remains at large.
There was chaos as police helicopters and SWAT teams converged on the Baltimore Washington Parkway around 11:30 Wednesday morning. The highway shut down for hours as police searched for a man carrying a hammer and shotgun who walked out of the woods along the highway and began to attack a speed camera vehicle while the contractor who drove it was still inside.
"He said the individual went to the rear window of the Jeep and began tapping on the window with the shotgun. The witness was obviously frightened and at that point began honking his horn. He said the individual then came around to the front of the truck and began striking the windshield with his hammer," said Greg Shipley, Maryland State Police.
The shotgun was never fired but the car's windshield was ruined. The contractor sitting inside was unharmed.
When the suspect took off, police say he ran into the woods that run alongside the southbound lane of the Baltimore Washington Parkway. Teams of officers searched the area for more than three hours before deciding it was safe to reopen the parkway.
Nearby businesses and hotels warned employees and guests.
"The hotel told us that they had locked all the doors," said Kim Weber.
"Stay in the room, lock the door, go in your car, lock the door," said Derick Thomas. "I was like, `What's going on?'"
The suspect is described as a 60- to 65-year-old white man, about 5'8", 150 pounds. He has gray hair and was wearing a red and blue plaid shirt and jeans.
Police say they don't really have a motive for the attack. The contractor in the car said he could hear the suspect yelling something but he couldn't understand what the man was saying.
Police are asking anyone who may have seen the suspect or who may know him to call 410-761-5130.
