Metro

ANNE ARUNDEL

Bill requiring cameras at shopping malls pulled

A bill before the Anne Arundel County Council that would require shopping centers of 15 or more stores to set up outdoor security cameras was withdrawn by its sponsor last night.

Several council members said they generally accept the concept of requiring some shopping centers to use outdoor security cameras, but they and representatives of area business interests said the bill proposed by C. Edward Middlebrooks, a Severn Republican, needed amending so that it would not place an undue financial burden on smaller retailers.

A similar measure passed in Baltimore County in March after the fatal shooting of a private school educator at a parking lot at Towson Town Center. Now law there, it provides financial aid to some businesses to install cameras.

Middlebrooks' measure would have provided no such assistance. He said he would propose a revised version by fall. He plans to visit Baltimore County officials during the summer to talk about similar issues they encountered in passing their bill.

"By fall, we hope to redraft something that will accomplish those goals," he said.

Some of his colleagues have recommended that requiring cameras should be based on parking spaces or the size of parking lots. Other concerns centered around the quality of the surveillance equipment and whether video tapes would be easily accessible to police.

- Phillip McGowan

ANNAPOLIS

Mother, daughter charged in stabbing of two women

A mother and daughter have been charged in the stabbings of two other women at the suspects' home early Sunday morning, Annapolis police said yesterday.

Police have charged Cheryl Harrison, 46, of the 1800 block of Bowman Court with attempted murder. She is accused of stabbing Nichole Clark in the back several times, police said. Clark was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center and was in serious condition yesterday evening.

Harrison's daughter Felicia, 17, was charged with aggravated assault in the stabbing of Clark's cousin, Denai Harris, in the chest and elbow, police said. Harris was treated at Anne Arundel Medical Center and released.

- Annie Linskey

ANNAPOLIS

Naval Academy alumnus, 35, drowns in Severn River

A Naval Academy graduate drowned over the weekend after he and his wife slipped underwater while wading in the Severn River near Annapolis, police reported yesterday.