A Bel Air man, who tried to break up a robbery by breaking the perpetrator’s head with a baseball bat, is lucky to be alive after he was shot twice Wednesday night in Edgewood.

The only reason the shooting victim wasn’t murdered on the spot was because the robber, who pulled the trigger repeatedly while standing over the wounded man, apparently ran out of ammunition. As it was, the victim was shot in the head and the leg. The alleged shooter was apprehended minutes after the shooting.

Not long after 11 p.m., Harford County sheriff’s deputies arrived in the 500 block of Edgewood Road in response to a 911 call reporting a shooting, according to sheriff’s office.

Thomas J. Sweiger, 20, of Bel Air, told police he and his friend went to visit two friends in the 2000 block of Starr Court Wednesday night, according to charging documents.

Not long after Sweiger and his friend arrived, someone knocked on the front door.

All four occupants of the home identified the man at the door as Shawn S. Stansbury Jr., 18, according to charging documents.

Stansbury was wearing a black or blue bandana over his nose and mouth as he walked into the house. Stansbury allegedly pulled out his gun and pointed it at one of the residents, according to charging documents.

He repeated a rude euphemism for demanding everything of value from the people in the room and then allegedly pointed the gun from person to person.

Police said Sweiger found an opportunity to pick up a nearby baseball bat and hit Stansbury with it.

Stansbury allegedly shot Sweiger in the head and lower leg and fired several random shots in the direction of the other three occupants.

He then stood over Sweiger, repeatedly pulling the trigger without the gun discharging, indicating it was out of ammunition. Finally, Stansbury ran from the home.

The victims told police Stansbury was bleeding from the head when he left.

A bomb sniffing dog from the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office was called in to sweep the area in search of the gun, while deputies continued their investigation.

Within 15 minutes of the initial call to police, deputies found and apprehended Stansbury at his home in the 400 block of Gateshead Drive in Edgewood, according to the sheriff’s office.

He was bleeding from the head and colorfully explained to police he was hit with a bat and shot the man who did it, according to charging documents.

Deputies recovered a .22-caliber from Stansbury’s home.

Sweiger was taken by Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company ambulance to Bayview Medical Center in East Baltimore. He was listed in stable condition in the emergency room around 12:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon and was expected to be released, according to Monica Worrell, public information specialist with the sheriff’s office.

Sweiger was no longer listed as a patient at Bayview at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

Stansbury was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air by Joppa-Magnolia Fire Company. He was later released and charged.

Police do not believe the incident was random violence, according to the sheriff’s office.

Worrell later said that while the crime does not appear to be gang-related, deputies were able to find Stansbury so quickly because of their previous contacts with him and their awareness of suspicious activities in the area.

Stansbury was charged Thursday with first- and second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, four counts of second-degree assault, four counts of armed robbery, four counts of reckless endangerment, illegally having a handgun on his person and use of a handgun in a felony or violent crime.

He was being held without bail Thursday afternoon at the Harford County Detention Center pending his Friday bail review in District Court.

user comments (0)