Maryland Man Arrested After Attempting to Harm Self, Child on Guilford Train Tracks
On June 11, the Guilford Police Department (GPD) responded to a report of a man and child on the railroad tracks near the train station off Old Whitfield Street, where officers determined the man was trying to harm himself and the child, according to GPD Chief Butch Hyatt.
The man, later identified as 38 year-old Ari Gejdenson, a Maryland resident, fled west along the tracks and into a nearby marsh, according to Hyatt. With the assistance of a K-9 unit, police were able to apprehend Gejdenson and take him and the child into custody without injury, according to a press release from GPD.
Gejdenson is charged with risk of injury, reckless endangerment in the first degree, interfering with police, trespass in the first degree, and attempted assault in the first degree, and is currently being held on a $250,000 bond, according to the release.
Train service was interrupted for a short time Friday evening, but resumed “as soon as the incident concluded.”
Hyatt told the Courier that Gejdenson and the child were first reported to police by an Amtrak train driver, though at least one other nearby witness also called police. He added that the investigation is ongoing, but there are definitely “some mental health concerns involved in the whole thing.”
There is no indication that Gejdenson was on the run or fleeing from Maryland for any reason, according to Hyatt, and police believe he has family in the area. Gejdenson’s intent to harm himself and the child was determined by “interactions” he had with Amtrak personnel, as well as what officers witnessed when they arrived on the scene, Hyatt said.
GPD thanked the Guilford Fire Department and Amtrak Police for assisting in the response, and “making sure this incident came to a safe resolution for all.”