In Baltimore City
Council OKs bill to forbid giving BB guns to minors
It will be illegal to sell or give a BB gun, air rifle or air gun to a minor in Baltimore under legislation that takes effect next month.
Violators could face a fine of up to $500 and imprisonment for up to 60 days under the ordinance passed by the City Council Thursday night.
Under an ordinance passed years ago, it was illegal to discharge such weapons in the city or provide them to people of any age. But a more recent federal law undercut the city's right to enforce those restrictions, city officials said.
Unidentified man found fatally shot
A man was fatally shot shortly before 10 o'clock last night in the 5510 block of Bowleys Lane near the Sinclair Gate Apartments, city police said.
The man, who was not identified, was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
City homicide detectives are investigating.
Christmas parade to bring street closings tomorrow
The city will close several North Baltimore streets tomorrow for the mayor's Christmas parade in Hampden.
The parade will begin at 2 p.m. and travel south on Falls Road from Cold Spring Lane to 36th Street, east on 36th Street to Chestnut Avenue and north on Chestnut Avenue to 37th Street.
The Falls Road exit from the northbound Jones Falls Expressway will be closed 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Falls Road from Hillside Road to West 36th Street and 36th Street from Falls Road to Chestnut Avenue will be closed 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
From noon until 5 p.m. there will be no parking on Falls Road from Hillside Road to West 36th Street, 36th Street from Falls Road to Chestnut Avenue and Chestnut Avenue between 36th and 37th streets.
Inner Harbor skating postponed indefinitely
The opening of the Inner Harbor ice rink, on Rash Field next to the Maryland Science Center at 201 Key Highway, has been postponed. No date for the opening has been set.
The ice rink is expected to be open seven days a week through March 9, weather permitting. The cost of evening skating is $5 Monday through Thursday, and $6 Fridays and weekends. Special rates are available for children, seniors and groups. Various events are scheduled throughout the winter.
Information: 410-385-0675.
In Baltimore County
2 brothers escape fire at Middle River rowhouse
MIDDLE RIVER -- Two brothers escaped from their burning rowhouse yesterday -- one by jumping from a second-floor window, Baltimore County fire officials said.
The fire in the 300 block of Endsleigh Ave. began about 3 p.m., with flames and smoke visible from more than a mile away. Forty firefighters battled the blaze for about an hour before bringing it under control, said Capt. Glenn A. Blackwell, a county fire spokesman. The fire started on the first floor; the cause is under investigation, he said.
A 14-year-old boy who tried to extinguish the fire and then rescue the family dog was forced to jump out of a window into a neighbor's arms. He and the 37-year-old neighbor who caught him were taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center with nonlife- threatening injuries. The boy's mother also was taken to the hospital for shock-related injuries, Blackwell said. A second brother escaped unharmed.
Man, 35, sought as suspect in home-robbery spree
WOODLAWN -- A 35-year-old man accused of burglarizing several homes in a west-side neighborhood is being sought by Baltimore County police.
Maurice Galen Hunter, whose last known address was the 3400 block of Firelight Lane, is charged with 10 counts of first-degree burglary in a spree that police say began Nov. 1 last year in the Woodmoor neighborhood. Hunter is accused of stealing more than $22,000 from homes in the area, police said.
Anyone with information on Hunter is asked to call police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 410-276-8888.