Fox45 in Baltimore was evacuated on Thursday afternoon after a man who claimed to have a bomb strapped to his chest gained entrance to the lobby. Both the Baltimore Fire Department and Police Department arrived on the scene. Around 3:00 PM, Baltimore Police Officers fired bean bag rounds at the unidentified man who had walked out of the building and was holding something in his left hand. He was wearing a panda costume, a surgical mask, and sunglasses.
We also know that the man set fire to one of the cars in the parking lot.
“He had a flash drive, said he had information he wanted to get on the air. 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,” News Director Mike Tomko said.
Update–2:48 PM: Here’s a Tweet sent from @GeorgeSolisWJZ
#BREAKING: Man says he had message he wanted to get out. He provided a flash drive with video. He said he didn’t want to hurt anyone.#WJZ
We have to admit that if you’re going to wear a bomb strapped to your chest, distracting people from the explosives tied to your torso with a ridiculous costume is one of the better ways to do it.
https://twitter.com/realtimwilliams/status/725752494509416448/photo/1
What Happened?
According to sources on the scene, a suspicious man entered the Fox45 Baltimore lobby and claimed he had a bomb. The rest of the building then evacuated. News crews are now outside the building covering the story.
There’s no confirmation on whether or not the person actually had a bomb, but it’s believed to have been a fake.
Chris Berinato, a Fox45 employee, claims that he saw a car on fire in the station’s parking lot. Chris says he went into the station’s lobby to tell the security guard, who then told Chris there was a suspicious man in the lobby. Berinato described the suspect as being dressed in “some kind of body suit” and a mask.
There’s a good chance that the fire was started intentionally by this person.
Later in the afternoon, the man walked out of Baltimore45 and was then shot by
https://twitter.com/ShelleyOFox45/status/725766854027911168
Who Is The Bomber?
Similarly, there’s no confirmed reason as to why the man entered the building. More than likely, though, it’s because this man is insane or because he’s protesting the deaths of Freddie Gray or the shooting of a 13-year-old yesterday.
We can report that he’s wearing a mask of some kind and either a panda or hedgehog costume.
https://twitter.com/KeithDFox45/status/725741542510616576
https://twitter.com/KarenCampbellTV/status/725740544601677824
This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.
