Police Search For Armed Church Robbery Suspect In Lansdowne
HALETHORPE, MD. (WJZ) — Baltimore County Police are investigating after five people were threatened at gunpoint during their church choir practice Monday evening.
"We were all sort of huddled together, it was a lot of emotion. Really you don't think that, when you're in a church building, you need to lock doors behind you."
Police received a call from the Lansdowne Alliance Church just before 10 p.m. for the incident.
One victim said they were practicing choir, left the main worship area to use the restroom and was approached by the suspect, who threatened them with a handgun and forced the victim into the main area where the four other victims were at.
The suspect went up to all five, stole all personal belongings and forced them inside the closet. The suspect then fled.
"When I came in on Tuesday morning after everything, all of the music stands in [the closet] were all knocked over," the pastor said.
Police are continuing to investigate but have no substantial identification on the suspect.
"It's a situation where you can't let your guard down at any time," Shawn Vinson, of Baltimore County Police, said. "Whether in your own home, houses of worship, we always have to be prepared."
Nothing else was stolen at the church except the victims' personal belongings including wallets and phones.
The pastor said the church building is used as a practice space for the worship teams from other churches. They also rent out the space for other churches to hold services in.
The pastor said they plan to install security cameras to the building as an added layer of protection for situations like these.
