Suspect in custody after crash at Maryland's Fort Meade: police

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man who stole a car and crashed into a gate at the U.S. Army's Fort Meade in Maryland, home to the National Security Agency, was taken into custody on Thursday after being found trying to hide in nearby woods, authorities said.

The base, located about 20 miles northeast of Washington, returned to normal operations after the suspect was caught and taken into custody without incident, Fort Meade officials said in a statement. No one was injured, they said.

The crash took place on the western side of the base at a gate open only to Defense Department personnel.

Police officers were trying to stop the suspect in a carjacking in Baltimore when he crashed the vehicle and ran onto the base about 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Anne Arundel County police said.

The incident prompted a search for the suspect, lockdown of six area schools and an order for residents to remain inside their homes, police said. He was found trying to hide in the woods in the area, police said.

In March, two men dressed as women tried to ram their vehicle into the National Security Agency's entrance gates at the base before guards shot one of them dead, officials said.

(Reporting by John Clarke; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Will Dunham)