Man in Animal Onesie and Fake Bomb Vest Shot by Police Outside Baltimore TV Station
A man in hedgehog pajamas and a bomb vest made of chocolate bars was shot by police on Thursday after threatening to “blow up” a Baltimore news station, WBFF-TV reports. Police say the suspect is in serious but stable condition and is expected to survive.
According to WBFF-TV security guard Jourel Apostolidies, a man wearing a hedgehog onesie, a surgical mask and combat boots tried to enter the studio at around 1 p.m. The man said he had a flash drive containing information about a vast government conspiracy involving “black holes and the Sun.”
Video of man walking out of @FOXBaltimore pic.twitter.com/3Q2i4gwtw6
— Shelley Orman (@ShelleyOFox45) April 28, 2016
After noticing the man had what appeared to be a bomb, Apostolidies called 911 and told his coworkers to evacuate the building. From USA Today:
After a lengthy standoff, the man, described as a white male in his 20s, left the building and walked to a nearby street, where he was shot and injured by a police sniper, according to police spokesman T. J. Smith.
Although he dropped to the pavement, he continued to keep a [hand] in his pocket, raising fears that he might still trigger a bomb. Officer communicated with him through a robot designed to detect explosives, but the man refused to cooperate, police said.
WBAL-TV reports that the man was first hit with three non-lethal rounds—footage of which the station aired live—before being shot with a conventional bullet.
[There was a video here]
After determining the man’s bomb was made of “chocolate bars and wires” with a bomb disposal robot, police took the man to a local hospital. Police say they also found a car burning nearby they believe belonged to the suspect.
Robot trying to get suspect to show his hands. pic.twitter.com/ekDM4i3qGm
— Shelley Orman (@ShelleyOFox45) April 28, 2016
“He had a flash drive, said he had information he wanted to get on the air,” WBFF-TV News Director Mike Tomko told reporters. “He compared it to the information found in the Panama Papers. I told him, ‘I can’t let you in, you’re going to have to leave the flash drive here and slide it through the opening.’ He wouldn’t do that. Apparently he had made some threats before.”