The Latest: Police: 7-year-old among hostages in restaurant [Baltimore](Update:Perp detained)

WTOP News (Washington DC) ^ | July 17, 2016 2:02 pm | AP

[COBOL2Java]

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Latest on a barricade situation in Baltimore (all times local):

2 p.m.

Baltimore Police say a 7-year-old is among those being held hostage at a Burger King restaurant.

Police spokesman T.J. Smith said in a news conference Sunday that “about four” people are in the restaurant with an armed suspect who fled from police.

Smith said the suspect is wanted on a rape charge and led police on a vehicle chase earlier Sunday before crashing into another vehicle and then fleeing by foot into the Burger King in Southwest Baltimore. Smith said the driver of the other car is being treated for minor injuries.

SWAT team and negotiators are at the scene and police are asking the public to avoid the area.

[MD Expat in PA]

I went to Baltimore once. I went to see Cal Ripken's last game. I knew NOTHING about Baltimore. I booked a hotel then went out for a walk.

I had NO idea that Baltimore was a black city. I have very light blonde hair and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Two or three times, older black ladies would touch my hair and say "how pretty."

I DID see Ripken's last game but Baltimore BLEW ME AWAY.

I am not going to say that this didn’t happen or that you are not telling the truth - “Two or three times, older black ladies would touch my hair and say "how pretty." but I find it rather suspicious – or at best, quite “unusual”.

FWIW I grew up in and spent the majority of my life living in and or very close to Baltimore City - I went to a Baltimore City elementary school for 5th & 6th grades and middle school in South Baltimore - both racially mixed and graduated from a Baltimore City HS (Western) that in the late 70’s was about 50% black and I worked in downtown Baltimore for many years and at some companies with many black co-workers. I also was for several years an Orioles season ticket holder, went to Camden Yards for many, many games and before that to Memorial Stadium and used to go to many restaurants and venues in the city, including to ArtScape which I was at last year and to various concerts and museums downtown and all around the Inner Harbor area.

I am a fair haired strawberry blonde with very pale skin, some freckles and I have pale green/blue eyes and I’ve never had any black person when I lived or worked or went to downtown Baltimore ever come up to me and ask to touch or even comment on my hair color as being something so unusual for them to have ever seen before - like they were one of those isolated tribes deep in the Amazonian jungles that had never seen a white person before.

[MD Expat in PA]

Here is the private message I just got from cloudmountain in response to my post:

Re: The Latest: Police: 7-year-old among hostages in restaurant [Baltimore](Update:Perp detained)
From cloudmountain | 07/19/2016 10:10:32 AM PDT replied

Well good for you. Ya wanna cookie?
What does MD stand for?
MUY Dumb?
Mental Defect?
Mud Dork?
Maladjusted Dactyl?
Manipulative Daffodil
Mediocre Deadhead?
Megalomanical Dean?
Misshapened Daglock?
Mongolian Deceiver
Myotonic Duck?
________________________________________
I taught at the college level with “only” an M.S. degree but I learned that Ph.D.s think that they know it all...and they don’t.
B.S. = bull s**t
M.S. = more s**t
Ph.D. = Pile higher and Deeper
A DOCTOR?! OMG, you must know EVERYTHING. :o):o)

Here is my reply:

If you want to dispute what I said, do it in the open forum and not in a private Freepmail.

FWIW the MD in my screen name means I was originally from Maryland but am now living in PA. I have never claimed to be a doctor.

And to further FWIW, I think you are an idiot and I also think you are a liar and made up your story.

[cloudmountain]

Thanks for a lovely discussion.
ALWAYS a pleasure...especially from Pennsylvanians.

I WAS an expat for five long years, but not in PA.

[cloudmountain]

PAX TIBI.