By Kevin Kutner
Baltimore County Police arrested a 28-year-old Parkville man who they say drove a stolen truck into the lobby of WMAR-TV in Baltimore on Tuesday.
Vladimir Mehu Baptiste of the 1700 block of White Oak Road has been charged with three counts of attempted second-degree murder and is being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center without bail, police said.
He also faces charges of first-degree assault, third- and fourth-degree burglary, malicious destruction of property and theft, according to online court records.
Baptiste is suspected to have driven a stolen truck into the lobby of the ABC2 News studio around noon on Tuesday and barricaded himself into the news station, according to a police report.
Police said they originally received a 911 call from an ABC2 employee about a man shouting obscenities outside the building. After the suspect drove the car into the building, 911 was called again, police said.
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Police said they evacuated the station and attempted to remove the barricade. One employee remained sheltered inside through the duration of the incident, police said.
The suspect was on the second floor watching the incident unfold on television from within the studio. Police said they considered giving a press conference on what was going on but opted to stay quiet because they did not want to reveal any strategy to the suspect.
The stolen vehicle, belonging to a Maryland State Highway Administration subcontractor, was taken near Interstate-695 and York Road. The suspect was not armed, and no one was injured.