Baltimore homeowner fights off intruder with hammer

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A 59-year-old Baltimore homeowner struck an intruder with a hammer during a late-night break-in Friday in the city’s Morrell Park neighborhood. His wife discovered the stranger crouching at the bottom of their stairs.

Baltimore police said officers responded to the 2500 block of Washington Boulevard around 11:29 p.m. Nov. 6. When officers arrived, they found a man being held down by another man.

The homeowner, Anthony Mills, told FOX45 the frightening encounter began after his wife, Kim, returned home from an evening out with friends. He said she entered through the back door, stepped outside again to retrieve something from her car, then returned inside, secured the door and went upstairs.

ALSO READ | Detectives release photos seeking suspect in two east Baltimore business burglaries

Shortly afterward, their dog, Scooter, began barking persistently at the top of the staircase, prompting Kim to investigate.

“I came halfway down when I realized that he was just crouching there,” Kim said.

She immediately returned to the bedroom to alert Anthony, a retired police officer, who went downstairs to confront the stranger.

“I wanted to see the gentleman’s hands to see if he may have had a weapon of some sort and I couldn’t get to his hands,” Mills said. “So I reached over on my steps and I had a hammer and had struck him to get him to cooperate so I could see his hands.”

Mills said his law enforcement training influenced his response.

ALSO READ | Caught on camera: 5 Baltimore businesses burglarized in early morning break-ins

“I think my training kicked in, that’s why I wanted to see his hands,” he said.

According to police dispatch audio, the man was struck in the head.

“Apparently the homeowner cracked him in the head with a hammer, small hammer of some sort,” a dispatcher said.

Mills said the two men struggled toward the front door and eventually made their way outside. His wife called 911 as he shouted for help.

Neighbors rushed over, including one man who stepped into the yard and took the hammer away.

“The community came together and came right to the house,” Mills said.

Mills believes the stranger entered through the back door, which he said had been secured with a bar extending from the doorknob to the floor.

“The doors were secured, and I have a bar that’s from the knob to the floor, and that had actually been pushed out also,” Mills said.

He said the back gate was also open when he investigated.

ALSO READ | Surveillance video shows suspects threaten bartender during Canton pub robbery

Mills told FOX45 the man began apologizing during the confrontation outside.

“Near the end, while we were outside, he started to say that he was sorry,” Mills said. “He’s like, ‘I’m sorry, I am sorry.'”

The encounter left blood on the couple’s front door, porch and floor.

“We cleaned the blood up on the porch. We still had blood on the front door,” Mills said. “We got the blood off the floor.”

Kim described herself as still shaken by the experience, while Anthony acknowledged the confrontation could have ended much differently.

Mills said his family has longstanding ties to the neighborhood, where his parents lived for decades.

“This neighborhood stood together last night and took care of each other,” he said.

He described the break-in as unusual for the community.

“Overall it’s a good community. Just last night was a strange occurrence,” Mills said.

Baltimore police said the unidentified man was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries. He will be taken to Central Booking for processing once discharged. Authorities have not released his identity or announced specific charges.

Mills said he hopes the man faces consequences.

“I would like to see jail time,” he said.

“I just want to see something done to let people know you can’t go in somebody’s house and expect to walk out scot-free,” Mills added.

Police said the crime lab responded to the scene and the investigation remains ongoing.