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When newsrooms become the subject of news

Posted at 5:50 PM, Apr 28, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-28 18:07:06-04

Sometimes, news organizations find themselves the subject of the news.

Fox 45 in Baltimore, where a man wearing an animal onesie walked into the building with a device strapped to him and claimed it was a bomb, is the latest.

It's not the first time bizarre and dangerous events have unfolded at a Baltimore news station in recent years.

ABC2 News found itself in a similar situation in May 2014, when a man drove a stolen Ford F-550 through the front lobby of the building, then barricaded himself inside for hours.

Employees were evacuated and Vladimir Baptiste, now 30, was accused of driving up the sidewalk and through the doors of the station.

Many ran out the back door of the newsroom, dialing 911 as they left. Employees piled into cars and many went across the street to the parking lot of the Drumcastle Center.

RELATED: Truck rams TV station; Suspect arrested by SWAT

Baptiste underwent psychological evaluations and was ultimately found not criminally responsible on a charge of first-degree assault.

At the time, the incident drew comparisons to a similar crime scenes at other area newsrooms.

In 1980, a gunman took over the studios of Cincinnati’s WCPO, the flagship station of Scripps, which also owns ABC2. Nine people were held hostage.

In 1982, at KOOL-TV in Phoenix, a gunman burst in and held anchor Bill Close and cameraman Louie Villa hostage for several hours. Close negotiated with the gunman on live TV.

In Topeka, Kan. in 2012, a man pulled a knife and stabbed two WIBW employees after breaking into the station’s lobby, angry that the station told him it could not help him with a problem.

RELATED: A look at newsrooms becoming scenes of crimes