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One dead in shooting at mall in Columbia, police said

Theo

According to Howard County police, one person was killed following a shooting at the mall in Columbia on Saturday.

At around 6:10 p.m., gunfire rang out in the mall’s food court, said county police spokeswoman Sherry Llewelyn. When officers arrived, they found a man dead. Police were trying to identify the victim.

“Based on the preliminary information and evidence found by officers and detectives, we believe this victim was a targeted attack,” Llewelyn said at a press conference at the mall that evening.

Everything currently indicates that it was a single shot, she said.

“There is no ongoing danger,” said Llewelyn. “We believe that the individuals involved in this incident have left the mall and that we are in the process of actively escorting people out of the mall to ensure that they are safe and to maintain their own sense of security,”

She added: “Anyone in the mall or on the mall premises is considered safe. We are currently speaking to people who may be witnesses and we are asking anyone who has information to please share it with police.”

By 9:45 p.m., about 20 people were still on site and the parking lot in front of JC Penney was cordoned off with yellow tape.

During the press conference, Llewelyn referred to a shooting at the mall in 2014 in which customers ran for cover when two store employees were shot by a man who police said killed himself in the late morning hours.

“Unfortunately, we had a shooting a few years ago that was different from the incident tonight. That allowed us to intensify our training and coordination,” she said.

Darion Marcus Aguilar, 19, of College Park, entered the Zumiez skate shop at the mall and 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.

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