Police Brief Residents on West Towson Burglary, Shooting

Crime in the Towson area maintains a fairly steady rate, police say. But it wasn't the numbers that led police to meet with West Towson and Southland Hills residents on Thursday night.

It was the who, what and where behind a crime even police called unusual—the shooting of a in his home in the 500 block of Allegheny Avenue.

Police said, 49, of Baltimore broke into the home and, upon the homeowner's return shortly before 2 a.m. on Feb. 26, pointed a gun at him, led him down the basement steps and shot him in the neck. The gunshot wound did not lead cause a life-threatening injury.

The incident was random, Capt. told meeting attendees. This week, police recovered the gun and some of the stolen property "buried" near Pennsylvania Avenue, Trentszch said.

Trentszch also rattled off year-to date statistics for West Towson, the precinct and county-wide. As of Mar. 4, the precinct has seen 33 burglaries, compared to 29 at this time last year. Other statistics for robberies and auto thefts are roughly even. Burglaries are trending up just one percent countywide, while other crimes are down slightly.

There have been only three burglaries so far this year in West Towson, which Trentszch said is "probably not what a lot of people are thinking."

Trentszch said his officers are investigating a possible burglary trend in the area, and officers advised residents to stay alert and take precautions, such as installing an alarm system.

"I think they've been doing a very good job, very efficient," said Robert Weimer of Southland Hills. "Our neighbors were burglarized, [police] were out within minutes when we called."

For more tips, check out this Baltimore County police page on crime prevention.

So you tell us. How well are police responding to burglaries and other crimes in your neighborhood? What can or should police, officials and residents do to address crime in Towson?