Six armed men burst into a Catonsville home early Tuesday, bound everyone inside for hours, then kidnapped two teenage brothers, police said.
Sterling Blackwell, 15, Stephon Blackwell, 16, their mother and seven adults, none of whom lives at the rented home in the 600 block of Plymouth Road, were asleep there at 3 a.m. Tuesday when the masked men entered and bound everyone with duct tape, said Cpl. Mike Hill, a Baltimore County police spokesman.
The kidnappers left with the Blackwell teens at about 11 a.m. in a black 2004 BMW 645 convertible with tinted windows and a dark-colored Chevrolet Suburban.
One of the kidnappers fired a shot at a relative who had followed the car, but missed, Hill said.
“Our main objective now is to find these two individuals,” he said. “Are they in fact with this vehicle? Are they safe?”
Police, who had no motive or suspects, said they have received several complaints about “unusual activity” at the house, which Hill described as a “flop house” where people come and go as they please.
Two of the victims in the house were not cooperating with police, he said.
“Not to speculate here, but if something?s not right here, they probably would not want to be the ones to snitch,” Hill said.
Police have issued an Amber Alert for the two teenagers, meaning they believe the kidnapped teens to be in danger.
Hill asked the public to call police if anyone has information about the suspects, victims or vehicles.
“We?re asking the public to assist us in any way, shape or form,” he said.
The attack left residents of the quiet, suburban neighborhood shaken.
One of them, Brone Bancanskas, said she was too terrified to leave the house. “I?m staying in my house with the doors locked,” she said.
Examiner staff writer Dorothy Rowley contributed to this report
