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Three people dead after shooting at shopping mall in Maryland Gunman among three dead in shooting at Maryland's Mall in Columbia
(about 1 hour later)
Three people died in a shooting at the Mall in Columbia, a large shopping centre outside Three people died in a shooting at the Mall in Columbia, a large shopping centre outside
Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday. Police said one of the three dead was believed to be the gunman.  Baltimore, on Saturday. Police said one of the three people killed in the shooting, which happened at a skate store called Zumiez, was the gunman.
Five people were injured, although a spokesman for Howard County General Hospital said only one of them suffered a gunshot wound. All were reported to be in a good condition – police said one of the victims had a gunshot wound to the foot. At a late-afternoon press conference, Howard County police chief Bill McMahon said: “There are three deceased, including the shooter. Of the two deceased, there is an adult male and an adult female, in their twenties. They are both employees of the store. We are not yet releasing the identities of the victims because we are still trying to notify next-of-kin as quickly and as sensitively as we can.
Police also said that the suspected shooter was found near a shotgun and ammunition.  “The identity of the shooter we don't know yet. When our officers approached he was deceased, but he also still had a large amount of ammunition on and about him. And so because of concerns about any other weapons he may have had and explosives, we are approaching this with an abundance of caution. We are getting assistance from our federal partners in making sure there are no explosives on the body of the deceased.”
At an early afternoon press conference held at the mall, the Howard County police chief, Bill McMahon, said: “At about 11.15 this morning, our 911 centre received a number of calls reporting a shooting at the Columbia mall. Officers were able to get to the area and were able to identify three victims in an upper-level store.” McMahon confirmed that the weapon found with the deceased gunman was a shotgun.
After the incident, police had said that the scene was “believed to be secure” at about 12.36pm ET. Later, police said they were allowing shoppers to leave the mall, after determining there was no longer a threat. After a number of media reports suggested that the incident had been caused by a domestic dispute, McMahon repeatedly stated that police did not know the motive for the shooting.
McMahon repeated that the shooting had occurred in an upper-level store at the mall, contradicting media reports that had placed the incident in the lower-level food court. Howard County police later confirmed that the store in question “was a skate shop called Zumiez on mall's upper level”. “This has been reported by some as a domestic-related incident,” he said. “We have no knowledge of that yet. It's been attributed to some sources but I'm not sure where that information has been coming from. The Howard County police department has certainly been supported by a number of agencies in responding to this but we are investigating the shooting incident and we do not know yet what caused it.
He continued: “One of the deceased appears to be the shooter. We do not think at this point that there are any more shooters in or around the mall. When something like this happens, people run in many directions. They also do what we actually train people to do, which is to shelter in place. So right now we have many, many people still in the mall who have secured themselves inside stores. Our Swat teams, with help from many agencies around the state, are going through the mall now to get those people out.” “Any attribution of this being domestic-related or something else is purely speculation.”
Answering questions from the assembled media, McMahon repeatedly said that police did not yet have the identities of the victims or a motive for the shooting. He also said law-enforcement officers had not fired shots during the incident. Five people were injured – McMahon said only one suffered a gunshot wound, to the foot. The others had suffered medical conditions and injuries “like twisted ankles” in their rush to escape the mall. All the injured were taken to hospital for treatment.
Ken Ulman, the executive of Howard County, said there would be another news conference at 4pm local time. Earlier in the day, describing how the incident had unfolded, McMahon said: “At about 11.15 this morning, our 911 centre received a number of calls reporting a shooting at the Columbia mall. Officers were able to get to the area and were able to identify three victims in an upper-level store.”
The Mall in Columbia, which has about 200 stores and is located about 30 miles north of Washington DC, typically opens at 10am on Saturdays. Joan Harding of Elkridge, Maryland, was shopping with her husband, David, when the incident occurred. She said she heard something heavy falling, followed by gunshots and people running. "My husband said, 'Get down!' and the girl that worked in the store said, 'Get in the back,'" Harding said. That is where they hid until police gave the all-clear.People were directed out of the mall and into a parking lot, where some boarded a bus and others walked toward their cars. Some were seen crying.Laura McKinzles, who works at a kiosk in the mall, said she heard between eight and 10 gunshots, followed by people running and screaming. She ran into the backroom of a perfume store and locked the door. After the incident, police secured the scene, confirmed that there were no more shooters, and began to send shoppers home. Witnesses were still being questioned late on Saturday afternoon.
McMahon repeated that store in which the shooting occurred was located in the mall's upper-level, contradicting media reports that had placed the incident in the lower-level food court.
He added: “When something like this happens, people run in many directions. They also do what we actually train people to do, which is to shelter in place.”
McMahon also said law-enforcement officers had not fired shots during the incident.
The Mall in Columbia, which has about 200 stores and is located about 30 miles north of Washington DC, typically opens at 10am on Saturdays. Witnesses spoke of their fear and confusion. Joan Harding of Elkridge, Maryland, was shopping with her husband. She said she heard something heavy falling, followed by gunshots and people running. "My husband said, 'Get down!' and the girl that worked in the store said, 'Get in the back,'" Harding said.People were directed out of the mall and into a parking lot, where some boarded a bus and others walked toward their cars. Some were seen crying. Laura McKinzles, who works at a kiosk in the mall, said she heard between eight and 10 gunshots, followed by people running and screaming. She ran into the backroom of a perfume store and locked the door.
Ken Ulman, the executive of Howard County, said the mall would remain closed for the rest of the day and evening.