NEWSPAPER

BALTIMORE — One person was killed and nine others injured in a shooting and fiery crash in the Baltimore suburb of Towson Tuesday night, authorities said.

Law enforcement responded at around 7:15 p.m. in the 8500 block of Loch Raven Boulevard, Baltimore County Police Chief Robert McCullough said in a news briefing. 

“It appears to be a mass shooting incident,” McCullough told reporters. “We have multiple persons who were shot. Right now, we are determining the circumstances and the conditions in this case.”

The first arriving officer found a vehicle on its side in flames near a funeral home, McCullough said, and then several gunshot victims were found in the area. 

“There appears to be some type of incident that led to the vehicle crashing and catching on fire,” McCollough said. “Investigators are looking into the circumstances leading up to that.”   

The name of the person killed and the manner of death was not released, nor were the conditions of the nine people injured. McCollough did not specify how many of the nine people injured were gunshot victims. 

At this time, investigators believe this was an isolated and targeted incident, with no further threat to the community, he added. It’s unclear if any suspects have been arrested. There was no word on a possible motive. 

“We will leave no stone unturned and we will dedicate every resource to this,” McCullough said. “We don’t generally see incidents like this in our community in Baltimore County. I assure you as your police chief that we will put all resources toward trying to clear this case.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was at the scene assisting police, as was the Baltimore County Fire Department.

“This is an incident that is shocking, particularly for those of us in Baltimore County,” said Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski. “These types of incidents are unheard of here, so it really shocks the conscience. However, we want our residents to know that we are, as always, fully committed to ensuring that both our fire and police departments have the full support and all the resources they need from the Baltimore County government to ensure that they bring this investigation to a conclusion.” 

Anyone with information is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-887-4636.

President Joe Biden sought Tuesday to reassure the public about drones in East Coast states, saying there was nothing alarming about the increased reports of unmanned aircraft sightings.

“Nothing nefarious, apparently,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “We’re following it closely. So far no sense of danger.”

Biden’s remarks — his first public comments on the matter — add to a growing number of reassurances from his administration.

Still, the numerous sightings have sparked demands for more information from across the political spectrum, including President-elect Donald Trump, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York and members of Congress, amid conspiracy theories and rising public concern tied to the sightings.

Biden said Tuesday night that “there’s a lot of drones authorized up there.”

More than a million drones are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration, according to a joint statement Monday from the Department of Homeland Security, the FAA, the Defense Department and the FBI, who all said the sightings are not out of the ordinary and do not pose “a national security or public safety risk.”

The agencies said Monday that authorities had received more than 5,000 tips in recent weeks and that among the objects that have been identified were commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones, as well as some crewed fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and stars.

Intelligence officials briefed members of the House Intelligence Committee on the drone sightings behind closed doors Tuesday afternoon.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the panel’s top Democrat, said officials had repeatedly assured them that the drones were not being used “unlawfully” or by people “with malign intent.”

In an interview Tuesday on NBC’s “TODAY” show, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby urged Congress to pass legislation that would give government entities on the federal, state and local levels “better authorities” to address a growing number of drones flying into U.S. airspace.

A provision in the short-term funding bill congressional leaders released Tuesday night would reauthorize a program led by the Department of Homeland Security allowing coordination and permitting federal agencies to counter drone threats.

James Gunn got candid about the movies that acted as influences for his new Superman movie.

The director shared insights into the making of Superman ahead of the film’s first trailer release this Thursday, revealing surprising influences behind his vision for the DC Studios reboot.

In a recent interview, Gunn explained how Top Gun: Maverick shaped his approach to shooting action sequences in the air for the superhero film.

“I wrote up this big document on action and what our philosophy is… keeping it alive in the air, as well as on the ground,” Gunn told ComicBook.

He elaborated on the challenge of capturing realistic flying scenes, saying, “Being able to shoot stuff in the sky like that is really hard.”

Gunn credited Top Gun: Maverick as a major influence.

“We shoot a lot of our action with actual drones flying in and around Superman and the people that he’s flying with, The Engineer, whoever else, that he’s fighting up in the air… We got these really small, crazy drones now.”

Gunn added that some of the world’s top drone pilots are working on the film to help bring his vision to life.

While Top Gun shaped the action, Gunn shared that his Superman is influenced by a wide range of DC media, including Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, the animated DC universe, and the comic book series All-Star Superman.

“I think that all previous DC media influenced me,” Gunn said in a report from IGN.

“Obviously, the original Donner movie influenced me, but there’s also a lot of things that this isn’t, like I’m just making a Donner-type movie. It’s very different from that. Zack [Snyder] did some excellent stuff.”

He cited All-Star Superman as a major inspiration:

“To take that sort of Silver Age feel, that sort of science-fiction approach to it with gadgets… Lex [Luthor] is really a sort of sorcerer in a way. He’s a scientist, but he’s so good at science… I think of him as like a sorcerer.”