5-hour Baltimore Burger King Standoff Ends Peacefully — All Hostages Safe And Gunman/Rape Suspect In Custody

After a nearly five-and-a-half hour standoff and negotiations, police have said that the armed rape suspect that had taken four people — including a 7-year-old girl — hostage at gunpoint inside a Baltimore Burger King has finally surrendered and is in custody.

The police department advised on Sunday evening that all the hostages have been released unarmed. The gunman has not been identified, but officials say that he had been wanted in connection to a rape which occurred within the last two days.

UPDATE: police say suspect in custody after hostage situation: https://t.co/XVQTb9J7Tl via @nbcwashington

— angie goff (@OhMyGOFF) July 17, 2016

The hostage situation occurred after officers spotted the suspect at around 11 a.m. Sunday while he was driving, but when they tried to pull him over, the rape suspect sped off and fled from the cops. A short police chase ensued, and the suspect then crashed into another driver, fled his wrecked car — gun in hand — and took shelter inside the Burger King. Baltimore police spokesman T.J. Smith revealed that once the rape suspect was in the building, he barricaded himself and the four persons he took hostage inside.

While the man held four persons hostage, including the 7-year-old girl, the motorist that he crashed into was treated for minor injuries.

According to the Washington Post, Danielle Montgomery, a 32-year-old aunt of the youngest hostage, reported that she had been given the chance to speak with the alleged gunman and rape suspect at the behest of the police negotiators. She managed to persuade the gunman to dispose of his gun, throwing it through a window, before giving himself up the police officers. Montgomery is a bus driver with the Maryland Transit Administration and spoke of the rape suspect’s mindset during his talk with her.

“He was crying and said he didn’t want to die.”

While the Baltimore police have declined to confirm her account of events during the hostage negotiations, they did say that several relatives of the hostages in the Burger King, as well as of the gunman himself, assisted the police during the five-hour standoff. The Burger King where the ordeal took place stands within the 1700 block of Washington Boulevard in southwest Baltimore.

Suspect who took hostages surrenders at Baltimore Burger King https://t.co/DQEs8JRmKV

— New York Post (@nypost) July 17, 2016

The police said that along with the 7-year-old girl, the gunman also took two female employees — a 17-year-old and a 25-year-old manager — along with a 67-year-old customer hostage. The girl is a relative of one of the employees at the Burger King. The Baltimore Sun reported that the hostages were released gradually through the hours of negotiations. The 17-year-old girl was released at about 1:45 p.m., and then the release of the 67-year-old came shortly after at about 2:20 p.m. The last two persons released, the manager and the 7-year-old girl, exited the building just before 5 p.m. and the gunman surrendered to the numerous waiting officers.

During the negotiations the Baltimore police had brought in caravans of additional officers from neighboring jurisdictions, many of whom came dressed in tactical gear and carried long guns. Several armored vehicles were also present at the command post the authorities set up in a building nearby which houses state offices. An officer armed with an assault rifle was tasked with clearing people from the area and the police taped off the scene up to a block away while a helicopter circled above.

Smith was very happy that there had been no bloodshed during the standoff and hostage situation with the rape suspect. The officials were in constant communication with the man throughout the almost-five-hour negotiations.

“We’re very fortunate this situation ended peacefully, obviously he had a change of heart. He made the decision to do the right thing and that was not to harm anyone.”

Smith would not speak of what the discussions with the gunman entailed, but said that the man went through a wide range of emotions during the hostage situation, and in the end, it seems as if he did not want to get hurt.

Valerie McKall, who said she is the 7-year-old girl’s great-aunt, arrived at the scene after spending two hours navigating the closed streets with her walker. She reached just in time to hear that the man had released the hostages and the girl was safe. She cried at the news, thankful.

“I’m going to hold her and tell her I love her and everything is going to be okay.”

[Image By Radu Bercan/Shutterstock]