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Columbia mall shooter was obsessed with Columbine massacre, police say Columbia mall shooter was obsessed with Columbine massacre, police say
(about 1 hour later)
The young man who opened fire in the Mall in Columbia in January, killing two people and spreading terror throughout this suburban community, was obsessed with carrying out a massacre similar to that in Columbine, authorities said in their first detailed account of the shootings.The young man who opened fire in the Mall in Columbia in January, killing two people and spreading terror throughout this suburban community, was obsessed with carrying out a massacre similar to that in Columbine, authorities said in their first detailed account of the shootings.
Howard County police said 19-year-old Darion Marcus Aguilar had searched the Internet extensively for information on the 1999 mass shooting outside Denver, and even timed his opening salvo to 11:14 a.m., the same time two shooters dressed in trench coats walked into Columbine High School and began their killing spree. Thirteen people died in what was then the nation’s deadliest school shooting. Howard County Police Chief William H. McMahon said 19-year-old Darion Marcus Aguilar had searched the Internet extensively for information on the 1999 mass shooting outside Denver, and even timed his opening salvo to 11:14 a.m., the same time two shooters dressed in trench coats walked into Columbine High School and began their killing spree. Thirteen people died in what was then among the nation’s deadliest school shooting.
The findings dispel speculation that Aguilar had targeted his victims, employees of a store he had visited in the past. One of his victims lived blocks away from his home in College Park, fueling talk that the shooting was grounded in a domestic dispute or that he was angry at being spurned. But in putting an end to that story line, police raised a far more frightening one Wednesday, confirming people’s worst fears: that Aguilar intended his attack to be random, and far more deadly. The findings dispel speculation that Aguilar — who ended the attack when he turned the gun on himself — had targeted his victims, employees of a store he had visited in the past. One of his victims lived blocks away from his home in College Park, fueling talk that the shooting was grounded in a domestic dispute or that he was angry at being spurned. But in putting an end to that story line, police raised a far more frightening one Wednesday, confirming people’s worst fears: that Aguilar intended his attack to be random, and far more deadly.
Police released these findings at a news conference where they outlined their investigation into the Jan. 25 shooting. “Aguilar’s weapon, attire, backpack containing explosives and method of suicide were all similar to those used in the Columbine incident,” police said in a statement.
“Augilar’s weapon, attire, backpack containing explosives and method of suicide were all similar to those used in the Columbine incident,” police said in a statement. McMahon released these findings at a news conference Wednesday, along with photos and video recordings of Aguilar lingering in the mall, apparently waiting for precise time to begin his assault, and practicing loading his gun in his bedroom. Police also said he took a photo of himself holding the shotgun he had bought a month earlier in Rockville moments before he emerged from a clothing store dressing room and opened fire, and posted it on the Internet. It was not discovered until much later.
Late on that Saturday morning, Aguilar stepped from a dressing room at Zumiez — which caters to snowboarders and skateboarders — armed with a pump-action, pistol-gripped Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and began shooting. Killed were Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park and Tyler Johnson, 25, who had lived in Ellicott City but had recently moved to Mount Airy. “I had to do this,” Aguilar wrote in his posting on Tumblr, police said. “Today is the day. On previous days I tried this I woke up with anxiety, regret and hope for a better future this day I didn’t, I woke up felt no emotions no empathy no sympathy. I will have freedom or maybe not. I could care less.”
Benlolo and Aguilar lived within blocks of each other, and the shooter was into the skateboarding scene, although police have concluded that the two did not know each other. McMahon said police decided they would not release that photo because Aguilar intended it as an “effort to gain notoriety.”
Some other shoppers were injured but most people quickly escaped by hiding in other stores or making it outside. Aguilar’s body was found on the mall’s upper level, near Zumiez. Next to him was the gun, which he had purchased a month earlier in Montgomery County. The police chief said Aguilar failed to surpass the carnage of Columbine for a variety of reasons. His pistol-gripped pump-action Mossburg 12-guage shotgun held six rounds of buckshot that is most lethal at close range, and lacks the accuracy and power farther away. Also, police believe that bystanders were able to escape quicker than the Aguilar thought they could, quickly scattering in the vast mall, and within seconds he ran out of people to shoot.
He also had a backpack in which police said they found large quantities of ammunition and two crude explosive devices that appeared to have been made out of fireworks. The new account by police for the first time describes a motive for the shootings that claimed the lives of Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, and Tyler Johnson, 25, co-workers at a store called Zumiez, which caters to skate boarders and snow boarders and is located on the upper level of the mall near the food court. The shooter had frequented the mall — one employee described him as a “mall rat” — had visited the store in the past, and lived blocks from one of his victims, Benlolo, sparking widespread speculation that he had targeted specific victims.
At Aguilar’s home in College Park, police found a journal. Authorities had visited there before they knew he was connected to the shooting, after his mother filed a missing-person report when he didn’t show up for work at Dunkin’ Donuts. Officers saw notations that indicated threats, police said at the time. Police later said Aguilar wrote of general hatred toward others and apologized to his family for what he was about to do. Throughout the investigation, Howard County police said reputedly said they could not find any links to the victims and the shooter other than circumstance. Police found a journal Aguilar had kept in his bedroom and found notations that indicated threats, including writings of general hatred toward others. In one spot, he apologized to his family for what he was about to do.
Police said Aguilar’s writings span about a year before the shootings and show him disconnected and violent, and include descriptions of him using marijuana and expressing “thoughts of wanting to die.” In one entry, police said, he wrote that he was “ready to die.” Police said Aguilar’s writings span about a year before the shootings and show him disconnected and violent, and include descriptions of him using marijuana and expressing “thoughts of wanting to die.” In one spot, police he wrote he was “ready to die.”
He wrote that his plan was “set,” but he did not “indicate what he’s referring to,” police said. They said he didn’t mention specific places or people as part of that plan, although he mentioned that he needed a mental health professional. But police said he never mentioned specific places or people. He wrote that his plan was “set,” but he did not “indicate what he’s referring to,” police said. McMahon told reporters at the time of the shooting that Aguilar, in his journal, expressed “some general unhappiness with his life.”
Howard County Police Chief William H. McMahon told reporters at the time of the shooting that Aguilar, in his journal, expressed “some general unhappiness with his life.” At the press conference, police said Aguilar “knew he was sick” and was referred to a psychiatrist in April after he told a doctor he had been hearing voices. Investigators found no record that he ever visited a mental health professional.
An employee at Zumiez previously described Aguilar as a “mall rat” who occasionally came to the store. Police said he sometimes would “hang outside and smoke in small groups.” But whether he chose the mall out of mere familiarity or for some other reason remained unclear. But police said Aguilar’s family, friends and school counselors saw no sign he would turn violent.
Police said Aguilar arrived at the mall in a taxi that pulled up about 10:15 a.m., just after the shopping center opened. Video from surveillance cameras show him calmly walking inside with a backpack. He passed a merry-go-round, typically filled with children, and took the escalator down to the food court, where he lingered for about an hour — sitting, standing and pacing. “Nobody saw this coming,” McMahon said.
Authorities have said they believe he kept the gun hidden in his backpack and took it out about 11:15 a.m. inside the dressing room of Zumiez, just steps from the escalator leading from the first floor. He emerged from the dressing room shooting, police said, leaving behind his backpack and the explosives. Police said they think he fired six to eight rounds, killing the two workers and using the final round on himself. Five others were hurt, one of them by buckshot, during the frantic race to escape. During a search of Aguilar’s computer, though, police found thousands of searches for mass murder, school shootings, home-made explosives and other topics related to killing. The search, they said, showed he had a “fixation” on the Columbine shooting.
Lynh Bui contributed to this report. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold — each wearing tench coats — walked into Columbine between 11:14 a.m. and 11:22 a.m., according to the final police report. While Aguilar got the time right, he didn’t match the anniversary. Columbine occurred April 20, 1999; the Columbia shooting on Jan. 25, and though now surpassed by other deadly rampages, such as Virginia Tech and Newtown, it is considered the one by which others are compared.
Shooters in both cases had bombs, though Aguilar’s consisted of two makeshift devices cobbled together with fireworks and hidden in his backpack. Harris and Klebold had two large duffel bags with 20 pound propane bombs, “enough explosive power to kill the majority of the students” in the school’s cafeteria, the police report concluded. None of the bombs exploded.
And while Aguilar was carrying a shotgun that limited his ability to quickly fire precise shots, the Columbine shooters came with an arsenal — shotguns too, but also a Tec-DC-9 semi automatic handgun, a Hi-Point 9mm carbine rifle. With man victims trapped in confined spaces — such as the library and cafeteria — the shooters were able to get off many rounds, one using a shotgun, the other 9mm weapons. While Aguilar got off six to eight shots, the Columbine shooters fired off 188.
Police said Aguilar arrived at the mall in a taxi that pulled up about 10:15 a.m. near the Sears and Starbucks store, just after the shopping center opened. Surveillance camera shows him calmly walking inside with a backpack. He passed a merry-go-round, typically filled with children, and took the escalator down to the food court, where he lingered for about an hour — sitting, standing and pacing.
Authorities have said they believe he kept the gun hidden in is backpack and took it out about 11:15 a.m. inside a dressing room off Zumiez, just steps from the escalator leading from the first floor. he emerged from the dressing room shooting, police said, leaving behind his backpack and the explosives. Police said they think he fired six to eight rounds, using the final round for himself. Five others were injured, one struck by buckshot, others in the frantic race to escape.
Lynh Bui and Hoai-Tran Bui contributed to this report.
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