JCPenney at Maryland mall evacuated after suspected armed shoplifter barricades himself in fitting room

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...