Columbia Mall Shooting at Skate Shop, Zumiez

Inside the Mall in Columbia

Columbia Mall Shooting: On Saturday January 25, 2014, a gunman walked into the Columbia, Maryland mall and opened fire, killing two employees at a skate shop, called Zumiez. Five people were injured and taken to Howard County General Hospital. One person was shot in the foot, another had a seizure, one with a sprained ankle, and the other two with injuries related to the shooting. They were all treated and released.

Brianna Benlolo and Tyler Johnson were shot dead with a shotgun in the Columbia Mall shooting. The gunman then turned the 12-gauge shotgun on himself in this murder suicide in Zumiez skate shop. The shooting took place around 11:15 a.m. at the Mall in Columbia. The mall was immediately placed on "lockdown" after the shooting began.

Police Chief Says Columbia Mall Shooting 'Should not Happen Anywhere'

Howard County Police Chief, Bill McMahon said to reporters, "This should not happen at the Columbia Mall...this shouldn't happen anywhere." McMahon says, "We do not know yet what caused the incident."

Witnesses said that the gunfire started near the second-level food court before heading to the skate shop, and people started to panic and run for cover. A mall employee said, "It's a mall shooting...No one knows what's going on. In today's world, you hear gunshots and you run." He went on to say: "A lot of kids were crying, and mothers were holding on to them. I wasn't worried about me. I was making sure everybody was okay." This witness even took a picture of a wall at the mall, filled with bullet holes.

Zumiez issued a statement following the Columbia Mall shooting: "We are deeply saddened by the violence that has occurred this morning within our store in Maryland at the Mall in Columbia. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families."

On Sunday, January 26, 2014, Police Chief Bill McMahon publicly issued the identity of the gunman in the Columbia Mall shooting. His name is Darion Marcus Aguilar. It is still unknown the reason for Darion to kill Brianna Benlolo and Tyler Johnson.

Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons; by mcmorgan08