Police: Hours-long standoff in Northeast Baltimore ends peacefully

BALTIMORE -- A person involved in an hours-long police standoff surrendered peacefully Monday afternoon in Northeast Baltimore, police said.

WJZ was the first station at the scene early Monday when police were trying to get a man who locked himself inside his home to come out.

The barricade, which started Sunday evening, continued into Monday afternoon, forced a nearby elementary school and high school to close for the day.

Baltimore Police said a 44-year-old man got into a fight with his neighbor.

WJZ obtained 911 transmissions from the incident.

"(The) second call is that the neighbor is harassing another neighbor five houses up and they hear gunshots," a 911 dispatcher said.

Police said the man shot his gun in the air and then locked himself inside his home.

Investigators tell WJZ they've gotten calls about this man before.

Baltimore Police, SWAT and other first responders moved in. Several streets around the man's home were shut down, which caused confusion for neighbors.

Officials said students and teachers at Sinclair Lane Elementary School and Archbishop Curley High School were told not to come to school because of the barricade that started late Sunday and continued into Monday morning. 

"Traffic was changed," Baltimore resident Michael Gross said. "We had a different route to go through. I had to go a longer way around to get where I'm at right here."

Police sent their crisis negotiation and tactical teams to the neighborhood in Northeast Baltimore Monday morning, authorities said.

Officers responded to the 3800 block of Sinclair Lane for reports of gunfire, the suspect then barricaded inside of a home, police say. SWAT and Crisis Negotiators units are on scene. 

The following roads were blocked off for public safety:

• 3800 and 3700 blocks of Sinclair Lane
• Intersection of Sinclair Lane and Chesterfield Avenue
• Intersection of Sinclair Lane and Eastmont Avenue
• Intersection of Sinclair Lane and Coleman Avenue
• Intersection of Sinclair Lane and Erdman Avenue

"Oh yes," Cleveland Goodman of Baltimore said. "It was scary. You don't know what's happening in the neighborhood and you have no idea what's going on."

Around 1 p.m. on Monday,  police said the man came out of his home peacefully.

Neighbors were relieved.

"They're going to take control of it," Gross said. "They've got their helicopters flying. They've got the police crawling. They are in control."

Police have not released any other information about what happened here.

We do not know if anyone was injured during this situation and if the suspect is being charged.