Man Arrested in Columbia after Hostage Hoax at Anne Arundel Community College

Anne Arundel County police, with assistance from police in Howard County, charged a man in connection with a hostage hoax, where the man reported to police that a woman was holding students at gunpoint at Anne Arundel Community College on Tuesday.

Shortly before 12:30 p.m., a man called 911 and reported that a woman was holding eight students at gunpoint inside the Careers Building on campus at Anne 
Arundel Community College, in Arnold, according to police.

Responding officers quickly found there was no hostage incidents, and determined the call was a hoax.

Investigators developed a suspect, who was identified as a former AACC student, police said.

After learning the man frequented the East Columbia Library, authorities in Anne Arundel County contacted police in Howard County and shared a bulletin seeking information about the suspect.

Shortly before noon on Wednesday, a caller to 911 reported recognizing the suspect, and police eventually took the suspect into custody.

Police charged George Walter Carlisle II, 43, of no fixed address, with telephone misuse, disrupting school operations and providing a false statement to police.

"Law enforcement takes all hoaxes extremely seriously as they put the public at risk and elicit a large police response," said Anne Arundel County Police Chief Kevin Davis, in a statement.

"Our faculty and staff regularly prepare for these types of scenarios and I commend the response of everyone involved," said Gary Lyle, public safety director for AACC.