UPDATED: Police Shoot Naked Gunman at Beltway Motel

UPDATE (3:30 p.m.)—Suspected drug paraphernalia was found in a motel room occupied by an armed man shot by police early Wednesday morning.

The 42-year-old suspect, who was shot multiple times after approaching police with a rifle while naked, is listed in critical condition at the Shock Trauma center of University of Maryland Medical Center, according to police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathleen Batton.

"We recovered some paraphernalia from the motel room but cannot confirm that illegal drugs are present until forensic testing is completed," Batton said.

Bystanders at the Beltway Motel, on the 3600 block of Washington Blvd. in Lansdowne, described a bizarre scene that began to fold at around 3:30 a.m.

According to John, a motel employee who declined to give his last name, the sound of shattering glass was the first indication that something was amiss.

"I heard a crash, and people said the guy next door was going crazy," John said.

"I went over to see what's going on," he said. "I looked in the window, and he's coming out of the bathroom naked, pulls a weapon and does this [aims the gun]."

That's when he called 911, John said.

Witnesses said that the suspect fired his weapon several times in the direction of Home Depot, which is located behind the motel.

Kenny Massie, a paving contractor working at the motel, said that the weapon was a military-style M-16 assault rifle. "I saw a cop pull it out of an evidence bag," he said.

Batton said that police fired their weapons when the suspect walked toward them with the rifle leveled and refused their demands that he drop the weapon.

Charges have not yet been filed against the suspect, she said.

The officers involved in the incident have been placed on routine administrative leave while the incident is investigated, according to police.

9:21 a.m. story: Baltimore County police said they shot a man who was reportedly firing a rifle through the second-floor window of a room at the Beltway Motel early Wednesday morning.

According to police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathleen Batton, at around 3:40 a.m., officers responded to the motel, located on the 3600 block of Washington Boulevard, after receiving reports of a naked man inside a room shooting a rifle through the window.

Police officers made their way to the second floor of the motel and encountered the suspect, who is described a 42-year-old white male, Batton said.

The suspect refused to comply with officers orders to drop his weapon, according to Batton.

When the suspect moved towards police officers, they discharged their weapons, Batton said.

The weapon was recovered by police at the scene, officials said.

The suspect was transported by ambulance to University of Maryland's Shock Trauma center, according to police.

The condition of the suspect is unknown. "We haven't received any word that this was a fatality," Batton said.

Forensic investigators are on the scene this morning, and the incident remains under investigation, Batton said.

Charges are pending in the incident, according to police.

Get the latest local news in the Arbutus Patch daily newsletter. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.