One person is dead following a shooting at The Mall in Columbia on Saturday, according to the Howard County Police Department.
At around 6:10 p.m., there was gunfire inside the food court inside the mall, said county police spokesperson Sherry Llewelyn. When officers arrived, they located one male subject who was deceased. Police were trying to identify the victim.
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“Based on the preliminary information and evidence that the officers and detectives have located, we do believe that this victim was targeted,” Llewelyn said at an evening news conference at the mall.
All indications right now are that it was one gunshot, she said.
“There is no ongoing danger,” Llewelyn said. “We believe that the people involved in this incident left the mall property and that we are in the process of actively escorting people out of the mall to make sure that they are safe and for their own personal security sense of security,”
She added, “Everyone who’s inside the mall or on the mall grounds is deemed to be safe. We’re just talking with people who might be witnesses and we’re asking anyone with any information to provide the police department with those details.”
During the news conference, Llewelyn referenced a shooting in 2014 at the mall that sent shoppers racing for cover as two store employees were fatally shot by a man who police said then killed himself in the late morning hours.
“Sadly, we had an active shooter incident, which was different from tonight’s incident, a few years ago, which really enabled us to ramp up our training and our coordination,” she said.
19-year-old Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park entered Zumiez skate shop at the mall and fatally shot two employees before apparently killing himself. The victims were Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park. and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Mount Airy.
This story will be updated.
COLUMBIA MALL: One person is deceased after being shot during an altercation inside the mall. There are no indications of an active shooter at this time. Will update.
— Howard County Police Department (@HCPDNews) July 27, 2024