WASHINGTON – Operations are back to normal at Fort Meade after the home of the National Security Agency was on reduced operations and six Anne Arundel County schools were closed Thursday morning, the result of the pursuit of a carjacking suspect who was chased for more than 12 hours.
The Anne Arundel County police say officers saw a car that had been reported stolen in Baltimore in the Hanover area at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday. After a chase of more than four miles, the suspect crashed a car that had been reported stolen in Baltimore into an unmanned fence at the fort and fled onto the campus. The suspect was captured shortly before 11 a.m.
As a result of the investigation, Meade High School, Meade Middle School, MacArthur Middle School, Manor View Elementary School, Pershing Hill Elementary School and the West Meade Early Education Center were closed Thursday to students and staff.
Fort Meade was on lockdown Wednesday night; on Thursday, officials announced that only mission-essential personnel should report and residents should remain indoors. The Rockenbach gate was closed, they say. All Directorate of Family, Morale and Welfare operations, including child development centers, were closed.
The county police said that the Fort Meade police were in charge of the investigation, since the suspect was believed to still be on fort property.
The incident comes months after NSA police shot two people who ignored orders to turn around a stolen SUV at a security gate at the base March 30. One of the two died.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
