STATE POLICE ON SCENE OF BARRICADE IN STEVENSVILLE

(STEVENSVILLE, MD) – The Maryland State Police are on the scene of a barricade incident in Queen Anne’s County.

Shortly after 6:30 a.m. this morning, State Police at the Centreville barrack received a 9-1-1 call from a resident in a Stevensville community. The caller reported an unusual vehicle in the driveway of a home in the 900 block of Bayside Drive, where the residents were known to be on vacation. The caller also reported an unfamiliar man walking around the backside of the unoccupied residence.

Upon the arrival of two State Troopers, a broken sliding glass door was discovered on the back deck of the home. When troopers made verbal commands for the suspect to exit the home, the suspect refused to cooperate with police and barricaded himself inside the residence.

Troopers identified the blue Toyota Avalon in the driveway as a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was reported stolen from a residence in Berlin, Maryland last week during a burglary of an unoccupied home.

Although there is no indication there is anyone inside with the suspect, nor if he is in possession of any firearms, police are taking every precaution to ensure the safety of area residents. Troopers with the assistance of deputies from the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff Department established a perimeter and called for the Special Tactical Assault Team Element and State Police Hostage Recovery Team negotiators to make contact with the suspect.

Investigators from the Criminal Enforcement Division, Upper Shore Region, are on the scene assisting, along with the Maryland State Police K-9 Unit, Trooper 6 from the Aviation Command, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, officers from the Chestertown Police Departments, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department.