(Updated) Police Catch Two Men Stealing Copper From Spring Grove

(Updated 7:25 p.m.) Maryland State Police arrested two men who were caught attempting to steal copper from inside an abandoned building at .

The first suspect was caught by police officers working for Spring Grove, said Maryland State Police spokesman Greg Shipley. The second suspect was caught after state troopers from the Special Tactical Assault Team were prepared to enter the building.

As officers lined up outside the building, the suspect crawled out of a hole in the roof on the other side. A county and state police officer who had been monitoring the perimeter of the building took the suspect into custody, Shipley said.

State police have two men in custody: Matthew R. Blizzard, 29, of the unit block of Wade Avenue and Dennis W. Dyer, 43, of the 8100 block of Mild Haven Court in Dundalk. Blizzard was a resident of the Westside Men's Shelter on the Spring Grove campus.

The second suspect, Dyer, was on the phone with his girlfriend as the state police SWAT team was moving in, Shipley said. When he was taken by officers after he left the building, Dyer allegedly told police he wanted to come out because he was thirsty, Shipley said.

(Updated 5:20 p.m.) Police have apprehended one suspect who broke into a building with asbestos at and are still searching for another, Maryland State Police said Tuesday.

According to police spokesman Greg Shipley, officers with the hospital's police force received reports of two men inside a building at the facility off of Wade Avenue in Catonsville shortly after 1:30 p.m.

The building, which according to maps is the Hamilton building, has been sealed because of asbestos inside, Shipley said.

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Officers from Spring Grove entered the building, Shipley said, and caught one suspect. The other suspect is believed to have escaped into the attic, but police were not able to pursue the suspect any further because of the darkness in the attic and the asbestos in the building.

The suspects were believed to be stealing copper or other metal in the building. Rolls of metal copper were seen being removed from the building while Patch was on the scene.

The one suspect that state police did arrest was a 29-year-old male who lives near the campus, Shipley said.

"We're in a holding due to the existence of hazardous materials inside," Shipley said.

(Original story) Baltimore County police have confirmed that 14 EMS, fire and hazmat units were called to the Tuesday afternoon in Catonsville.

Baltimore County police spokeswoman Elise Armacost said, “Preliminarily, the issue appears to be asbestos.”

She said the Maryland State Police has jurisdiction over the area.

State and county police were on the grounds of the hospital Tuesday, where asbestos was being removed.

Spring Grove Hospital Center, 55 Wade Ave., provides in-patient psychiatric services for both adolescents and adults. The hospital was founded in 1797 and is the second oldest continually operating psychiatric hospital in the country.