Police Investigating Tear Gas Incident in Hawthorne

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Several people reported having trouble breathing and irritated eyes after someone launched a canister filled with tear gas into the backyard of a Hawthorne home last week, Baltimore County police said.

According to police reports, the incident occurred about 11:25 p.m. last Monday when a man was walking with his 9-year-old son and his friend in an alley between Kingston and Southern roads.

One of the boys reported having elevated breathing and watery eyes, and the man, who is retired from the military, recognized the smoke and symptoms as being from tear gas. The man rushed the boys inside and called police.

The canister, which shot out flames before beginning to smoke, landed near the home of Mark and Joyce Roemer on the 2100 block of Southern Road.

Their daughter saw the canister - which struck their motor home - and alerted her parents. She walked into the back yard and suffered the same symptoms before her family also called police.

"It's a little scary, but it could have been a lot worse," Joyce Roemer said. "Police told us the gas wasn't deadly and that it was just an irritant. However, the canister could have caught something on fire and done real damage. I just wish I knew who would do something like that."

According to police reports, officers discovered the device that launched the canister in a nearby road but have yet to identfy a suspect.

Those with information about the case are asked to contact the Essex Precinct at 410-887-0220.