close

       Video

       Fox News Flash top headlines for December 6 Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

       A shoplifting suspect who police say was armed with a knife barricaded himself inside a fitting room at a JCPenney in Maryland on Wednesday, prompting authorities to evacuate the store during the four-hour standoff.

       Officers responded around 10:30 a.m. to the Westfield Wheaton Mall after 37-year-old Christopher Lawrence allegedly tried to steal a watch from the department store, the Montgomery County Police Department said.

       Lawrence barricaded himself inside a fitting room and reportedly threatened officers with the knife, according to police.

       The department store was evacuated as emergency response teams and negotiators attempted to persuade Lawrence to leave the fitting room and turn himself over to police.

       MARYLAND MAN ALLEGEDLY STOLE $50K IN CLOTHING FROM SAKS FIFTH AVENUE IN MONTHLONG SPREE

       A JCPenney store at the Westfield Wheaton Mall in Maryland was evacuated Wednesday after an armed man suspected of shoplifting barricaded himself inside a fitting room, authorities said. (Google Maps)

       Around 2:30 p.m., a SWAT team deployed pepper balls into the fitting room and took Lawrence into custody. He was evaluated on scene and was not injured during the incident.

       Lawrence, who has no known address, was taken to the police department’s Central Processing Unit. He is expected to be charged with first-degree assault.

       Video

       GOOD SAMARITANS SAVE FLORIDA WOMAN ‘UNDER ATTACK’ BY WOULD-BE ROBBER IN PUBLIX PARKING LOT: SHERIFF

       No officers or store employees were injured during the incident.

       CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

       JCPenney remained closed for the day.