NOTTINGHAM, Md. — The presence of police cars, ambulance and the like is nothing knew in this part of Baltimore County, but when Maryland State Police spotted a stolen car in Nottingham on Monday night and two juveniles ended up bailing out and firing a weapon, people leaving LA Fitness on Fitch Avenue found themselves in the middle of a crime scene.
“We seen cops just walking around with their pistols out… their flashlights too, and we’re like, ‘Alright, what’s going on?’” said Isiah Pannell, “We looked up and we saw the little flash from the helicopter.”
“We take the turn to get on to Belair Road and then we just see everything blocked off,” added Cristofel Nieves, “Cops running around. Sirens just going on and then we’re like, ‘Bro, we gotta get outta here. What is going on? We’re going to end up getting shot.’”
Just down the street on Saint Thomas Drive, Karen Michel saw part of a foot chase unfold.
“I just saw a flash out of the corner of my eye of something white flashing by in the dark and then I saw a person run across the backyards here,” said Michel, “and I heard the shot beforehand, but I don’t know if anybody was hit or not.”
A shelter-in-place order was activated as officers converged on the area for residents’ own safety.
In the end, police had shut down the neighborhood for some three hours, but they were able to locate at least two suspects and both are now in custody.
The two juveniles now face car theft and gun-related charges after what started out as a property crime put an entire neighborhood at risk.
“It’s just crazy,” said Pannell, “Honestly, it’s just best to protect yourself, stay protected and just watch over your back at all times. It’s all you really can do. I’m mean you can’t control anybody else’s, except your own movements.”
