Baltimore County Police were called to the home of David Linthicum on Wednesday afternoon because his father worried the 24-year-old was having suicidal thoughts, officers wrote in charging documents.
John Linthicum led an officer downstairs into the basement where they encountered his adult son lying on his bed and holding a high-powered rifle, according to the charging documents.
[Timeline: How the hunt for David Linthicum unfolded]
“David Linthicum fired about 15 rounds toward Officer Jordan and Mr. Linthicum. Both Officer Jordan and Mr. Linthicum fled the residence to seek cover from any further gunshots,” police wrote.
Once outside, the Baltimore County Police officer realized he had been shot. He was hospitalized for several hours and then released. David Linthicum escaped.
So began a manhunt that stretched on for three days, resulted in the shooting of a second officer, and ended with a standoff in a wooded area near Fallston Mall.
Linthicum was arrested early Friday morning by Harford County Sheriff’s deputies and taken to a hospital for observation. By the afternoon, he was in the custody of Baltimore County Police and charged with 11 counts, including the attempted murder of his father and two police officers and armed carjacking.
He’s scheduled for a hearing Monday afternoon. Online court records did not list his defense attorney as of Friday afternoon.
While the search went on for Linthicum Thursday night, the 24-year-old encountered a Baltimore County Police detective on Warren Road and shot him multiple times, police wrote in charging documents. Officers later watched the detective’s body camera footage.
The detective had been driving his unmarked police car when he came upon Linthicum walking on Warren Road. The detective stopped and got out to approach Linthicum.
“The subject fired numerous shots at Det. Chih,” officers wrote. “Det. Chih tried to retreat from the subject and also returned fire from his handgun. The suspect then stole Det. Chih’s Dodge Journey and fled the area.”
The detective was shot in his face, chest, leg and arms, according to the charging documents. He was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore and admitted around 10 p.m. Officials said the detective was stable, but on life support. He was surrounded by his family inside the hospital. His fellow officers gathered outside in a show of support.
Linthicum drove east into Harford County while pursued by police. He bailed out of the car behind a supermarket on Belair Road and ran into the woods. Police cordoned off the area and surrounded him. Helicopters and drones circled overhead. Police arrested him after an eight-hour standoff.
Later at police headquarters, Linthicum declined to speak to officers and asked for an attorney, officers wrote in the charging documents.
The manhunt alarmed residents and brought an outpouring of support for the wounded officers.
Baltimore County Police Union President David Folderauer said the detective was in surgery Friday.
Gov. Wes Moore said he visited the detective’s family and colleagues Friday and prayed for a swift recovery.
“We are grateful to have restored peace in the communities affected and vow to bring this individual to justice,” the governor said in a news release. “We ask Marylanders to keep the detective in their hearts, thoughts, and prayers as he recovers from his injuries. He and his fellow officers are true heroes, who unselfishly put their lives on the line to protect Marylanders. Our state is forever grateful for their everyday sacrifice.”
An uneasy calm returned to Linthicum’s Cockeysville neighborhood Friday, where the family’s home had been ravaged by a police raid. For about two hours Thursday, police sieged the home on Powers Avenue, firing flash bangs, sending robots to the front door and ordering Linthicum to come out. Their actions were interrupted when the call came through the police radio that Linthicum had shot an officer about a mile away.
On Thursday afternoon, the home’s garage door was bent and broken, windows were shattered and the wind blew into the smashed front door. One set of neighbors wrapped yellow caution tape around the house and yard and hammered “private property” signs into the yard.
Other neighbors spoke of lingering anxiety after two days of SWAT vehicles being parked in their driveways, heavily armed officers searching their yards and helicopters circling constantly overhead.
“The past 48 hours have been rough,” said Alex Halstead. “We’ve barely been sleeping.”
On Wednesday night, after Linthicum first escaped police, Halstead, his wife and their two young children were forced to spend the night in a hotel after officers closed down the street. On Thursday afternoon, police prevented his wife from driving back to the house after she picked up their 3-year-old daughter from preschool. The pair went to a nearby restaurant and were allowed to return home during a brief window before their street was locked down once again.
Neighbors were left wondering what set the man off and how he managed to slip away from officers.
“It was kind of eye-opening to me that Baltimore County Police could not surround him,” said Jeanine Moore, a neighbor. “He’s a 24-year-old kid. I don’t know how he could escape so many police.”
The woods of Loch Raven Reservoir encircle the neighborhood. Moore noted the trails run from near Linthicum’s home on Powers Avenue to Warren Road. That’s where he encountered a Baltimore County Police detective around 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
“From his house, he could stay in the woods all the way to Warren,” Moore said.
A neighbor on Powers Avenue, who declined to give his name, said he had doubts Linthicum had been near his home Thursday evening.
“They had pretty much the whole perimeter covered,” said the man. “I wonder if he was even there.”
This story has been updated.
Reporters Justin Fenton and Kristen Griffith contributed to this article.
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