Joseph Chester "Joe" Palczynski (November 11, 1968 – March 21, 2000) was a spree killer in the suburbs of Baltimore who in March 2000 killed four people and held a family of three as hostages in nearly a four-day standoff, one of the longest known conducted by one man. The saga ended when the two adult hostages escaped the house, the third - a child- was rescued, and Baltimore County Police fatally shot Palczynski as he was reaching for a gun. A woman was convicted and sentenced for buying weapons for a convicted felon, because she bought guns for him before he committed these crimes.