Linthicum, Maryland — A routine afternoon at a bustling aerospace and defense facility turned tragic on January 28 when a workplace argument broke out between two contracted security guards and ended with one man dead and another facing murder charges.
Around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, Anne Arundel County police were called to the Northrop Grumman facility in the 7300 block of Aviation Boulevard, near Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, after reports of gunfire inside the building.
When officers arrived, they learned that Maryland Transportation Authority Police had already secured the scene and taken the suspected shooter into custody. The situation was quickly stabilized, and authorities assured the public there was no ongoing threat to employees or the surrounding community.
Investigators say the deadly confrontation began as a dispute between two contracted security guards working inside the facility. During the disagreement, one guard, identified as 26-year-old Dylan Blake Chandler of Pasadena, Maryland, pulled out his firearm and shot his colleague.
The victim, 37-year-old Joseph Keith Aman of Baltimore, was struck and suffered fatal injuries. Emergency crews pronounced him dead at the scene. The force of the moment left coworkers in shock, with one third security guard acting quickly to intervene. That coworker was able to disarm Chandler and detain him until law enforcement arrived.
Police have stressed that this was an isolated incident involving contracted security personnel and did not involve any Northrop Grumman employees or routine operations at the facility.
Anne Arundel County Police Homicide Detectives took over the investigation, interviewing witnesses and processing evidence. The firearm used in the shooting was recovered and logged by the Evidence Collection Unit. Chandler has been formally charged with first- and second-degree murder, along with related offenses, and remains in custody as the case moves through the legal system.
The investigation is ongoing, and police are urging anyone with information to contact the Homicide Unit at 410-222-4731. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Anne Arundel County Police tip line at 410-222-4700.
This tragedy has cast a somber mood over the Linthicum community, raising questions about workplace safety and mental stress in high-pressure environments. Counseling resources are being offered to affected employees, and local authorities continue to work toward answers for Aman’s grieving family.
