The Glade 4.0

(CNN) -- A Johns Hopkins University student killed an apparent burglar with a samurai sword after discovering the man in his garage, police said Tuesday.

Baltimore, Maryland, police received a phone call shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday about a suspicious person, and an off-duty officer arrived at the scene with campus security, city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

When authorities arrived, they heard calls for help and for police, he said. They discovered a suspected burglar with a severed left hand and severe lacerations to his upper body, Guglielmi said.

The suspect died at the scene, he said.

The man had entered a home where several Johns Hopkins students lived, Guglielmi said. Four students, one armed with a samurai sword, had confronted the suspect in the garage.

The man "lunged" at the students, and the student with the sword defended himself, severing the man's left hand and cutting his upper body, Guglielmi said.

Police did not release the name of the suspect, who Guglielmi said had a long criminal history, or that of the student.

Police questioned the three witnesses, Guglielmi said, and released them. It was not immediately clear whether all four students lived at the house, he said.

Authorities are determining whether the student will face criminal charges, Guglielmi said.

Burglars had taken two laptops and a Sony PlayStation from the students' home Monday, Guglielmi said.

The burglary suspect had been released from prison Saturday, Guglielmi said.

Police have also not formally released the name of the suspected burglar, but a department source identified the man as Donald D. Rice, 49, of the 600 block of E. 27th St. in Baltimore. Guglielmi said the suspect had 29 prior convictions for crimes such as breaking and entering, and had been released Saturday from the Baltimore County Detention Center after he was arrested by county police in August 2008 for stealing a car in Baltimore. Rice was found guilty in December on one count of unauthorized removal of property, and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

More detailed article:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryla ... ?track=rss



Sounds like he got what was coming to him.

Thankfully MD has castle laws so our ninja hero shouldn't be charged with any bullshit.

How can you say he got what is coming to him? He's just an innocent victim in all of this.

How can you say he got what is coming to him? He's just an innocent victim in all of this. He certainly didn't deserve to die for petty theft.

The easy answer to all this is a ban on all swords over a certain length... say 13" or so. Noone needs one of those for anything. They're just implements for killing people, and have no other practical use.

I feel that campuses should be sword free enviroments. Swords and other bladed assault weapons should be carefully regulated and issued only to permit holders who qualify on a "may issue" basis State-to-State. Swords shall be serial numbered with stamped engraving (even collector items) exempting swords which can be Grandfathered in under a reasonable time-frame (say anything at least from the 16 Century or older). Removing the engraving shall be a felony offense punishable by not more than 10 years and/or $25,000 and the serial numbers shall be used to construct a database of sword owners.

Certain particularly sharp or deadly swords shall not be able to be privately owned without a special collectors permit. These swords shall be kept by dealers who have been issued a Federal permit which lisences them to sell and transfer swords between owners. The collector permit shall be issued only to those who can justify legitmate collector needs. Example of such swords may be authentic pre-Meiji Restoration era Katanas, anything Chinese, Machetes or other crudely effecient swords, sword issued various militaries as weapons or tools, lasers or other light-bladed weapons, and any sword modeled after a fictional sword.

Sword sales between private entities without background checks at so-called sword shows needs careful attention to make sure loons aren't able to circumvent sword purchase requirements.

Not hard to make a cut do that. He probably just swung when the guy lunged.

29 times the justice system failed the public. I'm glad this unreformable thief didn't get to go for 30.

On a positive note, the victim severed the left hand and got the upper body- thats tough to do! Go go mall ninja!

We can get lightsabers?!?

COOL!!!