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A barricade situation in Essex that placed two schools on lockout status Monday afternoon as a precaution has been “peacefully resolved,” Baltimore County police said.
The police presence stemmed from an 11:10 a.m. response to a weapons call from a concerned family member, police spokesperson Joy Stewart said.
An armed man was barricaded alone inside his house on the 900 block of Thompson Boulevard. He shot several rounds at officers outside the house. No one was injured, and no officers fired their guns, Stewart said.
The barricade had ended just before 4 p.m. when the man surrendered to police, Stewart said.
Baltimore County’s tactical team and crisis negotiators were on the scene. The Harford County Sheriff’s Department also assisted. Police previously said hostage negotiators were on the scene instead of crisis negotiators.
The single-family residential home is on the Back River, and members of the county police’s marine unit closed recreational traffic on the waterway.
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Stewart said she’s not aware of the man having mental health issues or prior 911 calls made to the residence.
Deep Creek Magnet Middle Community School and Sandalwood Elementary School went into lockout status “strictly as a precaution” of the large police presence, police said.
Both schools were dismissed on time Monday afternoon, according to Charles Herndon, a Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson.
Lockout status means the schools’ exterior doors are locked and access is limited from the outside, but the school day takes place as scheduled inside, Herndon said. This is different from lockdown, during which doors inside and outside are locked and everyone shelters in place.
This story might be updated.
Baltimore Sun reporter Sabrina LeBoeuf contributed to this article.
This article has been updated to reflect that Deep Creek Middle School and Sandalwood Elementary School are in lockout status.