'I Am Concerned,' Towson University Student Says After Campus Lockdown
TOWSON, Md. -- Some Towson University students were on edge Tuesday, a day after the campus was placed on lockdown while police searched for a man suspected of assaulting an officer.
Yet other students told WJZ the police activity and shelter-in-place order issued by the university Monday evening didn't make them feel uneasy because the man at the center of the search is not a student there.
Baltimore County Police on Tuesday identified the suspect as 19-year-old Zaron Elzey, who faces a list of charges including carjacking, assault, robbery and theft.
The charges stem from a crime spree that began about 5 p.m. Monday when a BMW was seen driving erratically along Stevenson Lane. Police said things escalated when the BMW was involved in a hit-and-run crash on Osler Drive.
A Baltimore County police officer called to the scene of the crash was assaulted by the BMW's driver, who fled on foot afterward, according to police.
It was around that time the university sent a mass email to students and faculty, recommending that they stay inside and avoid the West Village area.
"Everyone panicked," freshman Chinedu Chukwu recalled Tuesday. "We had to stay inside the hall and that kind of shocked me."
While students and staff sheltered in place, police learned of a carjacking of a Land Rover at a nearby hospital. The suspect was taken into custody in Baltimore a short time later.
Even though no students were hurt, Monday's incident combined with a Sept. 4 campus shooting that left three people injured has some worried about campus security.
"One semester it happened twice," freshman Ranah Khalil told WJZ. "One is a shooting and one is a police assault. And, as a student, I am concerned for my safety."
Added senior Jun Ong: "I'm thinking about getting a protection keychain with a taser and stuff."
Following his arrest, Elzey was taken to the Baltimore County Jail where he's being held without bond.
A search of online court records found it isn't the 19-year-old's first run-in with the law. His criminal record included an attempted murder charge stemming from last December.
Court records show Elzey has a bail review hearing in Monday's case scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
