National Guardsman arrested after standoff at Maryland armory

By Gina Cherelus

(Reuters) - An unarmed soldier was arrested at a Maryland National Guard armory on Monday after he barricaded himself inside a building that housed a cache of small weapons, authorities said.

The soldier surrendered without a struggle after negotiating with Baltimore County Police for more than two hours at the facility in Parkville, Maryland, according to a post on a department blog.

The man, whom police did not identify by name, never gained access to weapons stored in a vault inside the building, police said, and there were no injuries.

The incident comes at a time of heightened security at U.S. military bases after several violent episodes in recent years, including deadly shootings at two facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee last year.

The blog said the man was being evaluated and that unspecified charges were pending.

The soldier had no authorization to enter the armory, which also houses a shooting range and an obstacle course, said Colonel Charles Kohler, a Maryland National Guard spokesman.

Investigators were trying to determine the man's motives for entering the building and how he was able to get inside. The building requires a security code to enter, a police spokeswoman said.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)