Hagerstown man arrested after threatening to 'blow up' workplace, 26 guns found in home

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — Deputies found more than they bargained for when searching a man's home in Hagerstown on Saturday after he allegedly threatened to blow up his workplace. 

Anthony Jacob Fritz, 38, and an employee of MVA, located on Colonel Henry K. Douglas Drive, faces one count of making a threat of mass violence and one count of arson threat.

At 10:30 a.m. Friday morning, MVA employees spoke with a Maryland State Police trooper about Fritz threatening to bomb the building where they worked. While investigating, the trooper asked the Office of the State Fire Marshal Bomb Squad and an OSFM explosive detection canine team to respond.  K9 Rosie searched the building, and no explosives were found, and Deputy State Fire Marshals assumed the investigation. 

After talking with the Washington County State's Attorney's Office, Fritz was taken into custody on an arrest warrant. 

Investigators then got an Extreme Risk Protective Order (ERPO), allowed under Maryland's Red Flag law, to search Fritz's home on Kasinof Avenue in Hagerstown. 

Deputy State Fire Marshals and troopers searched Fritz's home, where they found 26 guns and 67 containers of ammunition.

Fritz was later taken to a local hospital for a medical evaluation.

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