Fire Engulfs Stores Amid Standoff

Maryland - A 29-year-old gunman was believed to have perished yesterday in a fire that broke out in a liquor store during his standoff with police and engulfed a Frederick shopping complex. The gunman, identified by police as James C. Douglas of Frederick, was known to local law enforcement officers and had spoken with police by telephone before the fire broke out in Jim's Liquors and spread to eight other businesses in Antietam Village Center on Opossumtown Pike.

Police said Douglas entered the liquor store and, at gunpoint, ordered the owner to get out. The owner called police from a neighboring store about 12:30 p.m.

The gunman fired at least two shots at police during the standoff, according to Lt. Thomas Chase, a spokesman for the Frederick Police Department. Police smelled something burning as they tried to negotiate with the suspect, partially by telephone, and soon a fire was raging, Chase said.