Elkridge Man in Hedgehog Suit Who Made Bomb Threat Found Not Responsible

Baltimore, MD — The Howard County man who barricaded himself inside a Baltimore TV station and was shot by police when he wouldn’t surrender has been deemed not criminally responsible in the encounter.

A judge ruled Wednesday that Alex Brizzi of Elkridge, who told authorities that he had a bomb strapped to his body when he walked into the FOX45 building, shows signs of mental illness.

Brizzi was clad in a hedgehog onesie when he entered the building on TV Hill April 28 and threatened staff "with some type of outfit that appeared to be a bomb," Baltimore Police Media Relations Director T.J. Smith said.

The suspect brought in a flash drive with something he wanted FOX 45 to air on the news, Smith said.

Brizzi will be transferred to a state hospital for treatment, FOX reports, and will be released when doctors say he's no longer a threat.

Before the standoff, Brizzi had suffered a mental break after he and his girlfriend broke up, the man's father told the TV station. The father told the news station that he presumed his son wanted to "pass on his message" that the world was going to end on June 3.

When he arrived at the TV station's entryway, Brizzi wore a surgical mask and red flotation-type device that appeared to have explosives attached, police said.

In actuality, the items that looked like explosives were candy bars wrapped in aluminum foil with strings connecting them, linked to a small motherboard, according to Smith.

A wire ran down the sleeve of the man's jacket into his hand to give the impression that he was able to detonate something, according to Smith.

Around the same time, a fire broke out in the parking lot and burned a car associated with the suspect, Smith said. It was deemed an arson, with a rag found inside the gas tank, he said.

Brizzi was charged with second-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning and threat of arson, as well as four counts of reckless endangerment and one count of possessing a phony destructive device.