A Keyser woman is behind bars after an almost two hour long standoff with law enforcement. According to the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office on August 17, 2020 at approximately 1:43pm Mineral County 911 received a report of a hold up/panic alarm at the Chessie Federal Credit Union located at the intersection of Southern Drive and US 220 in Keyser. A second caller reported that a female subject was in the bank and armed with a shotgun and possibly multiple hostages. Multiple LE agencies responded to the scene and a perimeter around the bank was established which included rerouting traffic from US 220. Surrounding businesses were also evacuated.
Additional resources were requested including additional units from Keyser City Police as well as additional personnel and a hostage negotiator from the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office. Also requested were Hostage Negotiators and tactical equipment from Allegany County Md, Special Response Team from the West Virginia State Police and additional support personnel from WVDOH, Multiple EMS agencies, Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office, WV Division of Natural Resources Police, WV Fire Marshals Office, The Potomac Highlands Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, the FBI and Keyser Fire Dept.
As communications were established with people in the bank it was determined that there were a total of 5 other people plus the suspect inside.
Negotiations were established with the suspect and she was identified as 38 y/o Mary Ann Crossland of Keyser WV. Negotiators were able to secure the release of two of the people in the bank and continued communications with the suspect.
As negotiations continued, the suspect left her firearm and entered another room of the bank. An emergency tactical entry was completed by the WVSP SRT and the suspect was taken into custody without incident.
No injuries were reported by any of the victims and all were secured unharmed.
The suspect was arrested and charged with 5 counts of Kidnapping as well as Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and transported to the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail for holding.
This incident was brought to a successful conclusion through great cooperation of multiple agencies from two states and several counties as well as across multiple Emergency Service disciplines. The Mineral County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank all involved.