CUMMINGS’ SHOUT ROUT
Rep: I ‘yelled’ Balt. burglar from my home
Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings says he drove away the criminal who broke into his Baltimore home last weekend by “yelling” at the man.
The 68-year-old Democratic House Oversight Committee chair said in a statement Friday that he leaped into action after the intruder broke in early Saturday.
“I was notified of the intrusion by my security system,” he said of the apartment break-in.
“And I scared the intruder away by yelling before the person gained entry into the residential portion of the house,” Cummings said.
“I thank the Baltimore Police Department for their response and ask that all further inquiries be directed to them.”
The break-in happened at 3:40 a.m.; police were not contacted until 8:52 a.m., when the couple made a direct call to a sergeant, a police report said.
The intruder, described as 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, wore a black fitted hat with a red upside-down “U” shape on the front, along with a dark shortsleeve shirt and khaki shorts.
A security system motion alert went off as he entered the Madison Avenue building, notifying the couple via phone app.
Cummings told police that he “confronted” the intruder in a hallway.
The congressman’s wife, Maya Rockeymoore, 47, who is Maryland’s Democratic chairwoman, snapped photos of the suspect as he exited the foyer and hopped onto a dark-colored bicycle.
The burglar fled on the bike, the report said. No property was taken.
President Trump tweeted about the break-in Friday morning: “Really bad news! The Baltimore house of Elijah Cummings was robbed. Too bad!”
Trump was later asked about the tweet by a reporter.
“The tweet itself was just really a repeat of what I heard over the news,” Trump said on the South Lawn of the White House before boarding Marine One. “I know his house was robbed and I thought that was too bad.”
The commander in chief insisted, “That was really not meant as a wise-guy tweet.”
The burglary occurred several hours before Trump accused the congressman of being a “brutal bully” and called his district a “disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess” and a “very dangerous place.”