Baltimore police responding to the 2500 block of Washington Boulevard around 11:29 p.m. found one man holding another down, police said. The man being restrained was taken to a hospital with serious injuries. The incident unfolded inside a Morrell Park home after Kim Mills returned and found a stranger there.
The homeowner, 59-year-old Anthony Mills, is a retired police officer, according to WBFF. The station reported that Mills’ wife, Kim, had returned from an evening out with friends and briefly stepped back outside to retrieve something from her car. Their dog, Scooter, was barking persistently near the top of the staircase.
Kim Mills went partway down the stairs and saw a stranger crouched at the bottom, the station reported. She alerted Anthony and called 911. Anthony Mills told the station he believed the man entered through the back door. He said the back gate was open and the door had been secured with a bar extending from the doorknob to the floor.
A Struggle That Spilled Outside
Mills told WBFF he used a hammer to make the stranger show his hands, citing his law enforcement training. The two struggled toward the front door and then onto the porch.
Neighbors joined the effort to help, and one took the hammer away during the struggle, according to WBFF. The station reported blood on the front door, porch and floor, and said the man apologized during the commotion outside.
Police said the unidentified man was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries. Dispatch audio cited by WBFF indicated he had been struck in the head with a small hammer. Police said a crime lab responded and the investigation was ongoing.
No Charges Announced, Identity Withheld
Authorities had not released the man’s identity or announced specific charges, according to WBFF. Police said he would be taken to central booking for processing after leaving the hospital.
Kim Mills told the station she remained shaken and secured the back door after returning inside. Anthony Mills said the encounter could have ended differently and told WBFF he hoped the man would face consequences, including jail time.
Mills, whose parents lived in the neighborhood for decades and whose family has longstanding ties to the area, described the break-in as unusual for the Morrell Park community. Baltimore's Part 1 crime rate measure, which tracks reported homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, larceny, and auto theft per 1,000 residents, is used citywide to gauge neighborhood safety, according to data.baltimorecity.gov. For now, the case remains under investigation as police work to determine what led the man into the Mills home in the first place.
What the crime data can show
The Baltimore Police Department says its Open Baltimore Part I data is preliminary, summarizes victim-based crime data and should not be compared with FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics. Without year-by-year burglary figures, the information here cannot establish a trend for Morrell Park or a comparison with the city overall, according to the Baltimore Police Department.
