An armed man suspected in a recent rape took four people hostage — including a 7-year-old girl — inside a Baltimore Burger King after evading police Sunday, authorities said.

Officers tried to stop the suspect, whom police did not name, to serve him an arrest warrant on the northwest side of the city about 11 a.m., when he sped off and led police on a chase to Washington Boulevard and South Monroe Street near Carroll Park, police said.

The man crashed into another car at the intersection about 11:30 a.m. and ran inside the fast food restaurant, where he barricaded himself and the hostages, police said.

The driver of the other vehicle sustained minor injuries, police said.

Tactical units lined up, guns drawn, along the restaurant’s exterior wall. An officer with an assault rifle ordered people to clear Carroll Park. Police taped off the crime scene a block away, and the Foxtrot helicopter unit circled overhead.

The owner of the Burger King franchise paced anxiously along the police line. He declined to be interviewed.

“Our ultimate goal is to end this peacefully for all parties,”Baltimore Police Department chief spokesman T.J. Smith said. “We have our negotiators on scene. We have our SWAT team on scene. We’ve cordoned off the area for safety purposes.”

The restaurant is located in the 1700 block of Washington Boulevard. Police asked motorists to avoid the area.