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Sep 7, 2008 12:58 pm US/Eastern

Police Charge Gunman In Overlea Hostage Incident

Reporting
Suzanne Collins
OVERLEA, Md. (WJZ) ― The man arrested for taking hostages in Overlea and keeping police at bay for hours isn't in jail but in a psychiatric ward.

Suzanne Collins reports Roger Shifflett has been hospitalized. Police believe Shifflett was incoherent when they tried to negotiate with him for 14 hours Thursday while many people were stuck in their homes and couldn't leave.

The hostage drama unfolded when police learned 38-year-old Roger Shifflett had three people at gunpoint inside a home.

Bruce Smith, 62, was the hostage released first. He had to tape the broken windows of his home where police fired tear gas.

The gunman is in now in Franklin Square Hospital under police guard.

"Hostage negotiators found it difficult to talk in a straight line with him. The conversation seemed to jump all over the place, so they decided it was best to have a psychiatric evaluation," said Bill Toohey, Baltimore County Police spokesperson.

The police chief wants to thank the people in the neighborhood who helped them, like Terry Manning. She let the SWAT team into her bedroom across the street from the barricade.

"They came in, put black things all over the wall to make the room completely black and set up their guns so they could have a good aim," said Manning.

Snipers also took boards out of Manning's fence to train their guns on Shifflett. Late in the day, when the final two hostages were released, police knew it was just Shifflett left inside. That's when they fired tear gas into the home.

"There were more booms, then you could hear the boom, boom when it went through the window, gas going through," said Manning.

Police say it all began when Shifflett broke down the front door of the house and threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend. She was able to hide from him and call police to let them know. Then she jumped out a window to get away.

That woman, Melissa Thompson, was helping her landlord tape windows. She says she hasn't dated Shifflett for two and a half years, yet she claims he's harassed her many times since.

Shifflett has been charged with assault, false imprisonment, burglary and gun charges.

Bail was set for Shifflett at $250,000 Friday, even though he is currently hospitalized.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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