Suspect accused of shooting 2 police officers in custody after standoff

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Authorities in Maryland took a suspect accused of shooting two law enforcement officers into custody Friday after a two-day manhunt that ended with a standoff in a wooded area near Fallston Mall in Harford County, just northeast of Baltimore.

Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler said during a press conference Friday morning that David Emory Linthicum, 24, was taken into custody after some physical resistance at the scene. Gahler said deputies were able to use "less lethal devices" to approach Linthicum to take him into custody after an eight-hour standoff.

The sheriff said, though, Linthicum did not surrender but over the time of the standoff, deputies were about to subdue him by the morning physically detain him.

"Time was on our side," Gahler said. "We had eyes on the suspect. We had him pinned down. Where he was, was in a large wooded area ... trying to seclude himself from the helicopter from Baltimore County."

Gahler said during the standoff, law enforcement was able to establish contact with Linthicum and by the morning was able to take him into custody without further gunfire. He said the suspect was not injured in the arrest and has been checked out for a medical evaluation, Baltimore County Police will take him into custody.

The sheriff said Linthicum had ammunition in his possession but not a weapon. He said deputies will be searching the wooded area to see if they could find any guns the suspect may have possessed.

"Our communities are safer with this individual in custody where he belongs," Gahler said.

Gahler said some local schools decided to close on Friday in light of the ongoing search.

Authorities have been hunting for Linthicum since mid-Wednesday when he shot a Baltimore County police officer responding to a residence in Cockeysville, a Baltimore suburb of some 23,800 people.

On Thursday evening, shortly after police said Linthicum had been spotted in the Cockeysville area of Powers Avenue and Warren Road, it was announced by the Baltimore County Police Department that the suspect had shot a second officer, who was seriously injured.

Gahler told reporters that following the second shooting, Linthicum led police on a chase in a stolen vehicle north to Harford County where officers used spike strips to force his vehicle to a stop near the mall. The suspect then fled on foot into the woods.

A rifle and handgun were retrieved after the suspect discarded the vehicle but he was believed to be armed with at least one rifle, Gahler said, adding that officers have not yet been able to make contact.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski tweeted late Thursday that he was on the scene at Shock Trauma with interim police chief Dennis Delp and the injured officer.

"My prayers, and all of Baltimore County's, are with the officer, his colleagues and his loved ones tonight," he said.

The search for Linthicum began Wednesday when officers with the Baltimore County Police Department responded to a person-in-crisis call from a residence in the 10000 block of Powers Avenue in Cockeysville.

Officers were escorted into the residence and interacted with a man later identified as Linthicum who discharged a firearm, injuring one of the officers, the police department said in a statement.

Joy Stewart, Baltimore County Police spokeswoman, told reporters during a press conference earlier Thursday that the first injured officer has since been released from the hospital.