UPDATE: Police investigating thedeadly shooting at a mall in Columbia, Md., are still searching for the motive of gunman Darion Marcus Aguilar, but his diary might help authorities crack the case.
As the mall reopens on Monday, investigators say a journal belonging to the 19-year-old has been found, but they would only reveal that it “expressed general unhappiness” in the teen’s life. However, the contents were enough for an officer looking into the disappearance of Aguilar on the day of the shooting to worry about the teen’s safety.
Authorities have been able to piece together what happened on that fateful Saturday morning.
Police said Aguilar took a taxi to the Mall in Columbia in suburban Baltimore on Saturday morning and entered the building near Zumiez, a shop that sells skateboarding gear. He went downstairs to a food court directly below the store, then returned less than an hour later, dumped the backpack in a dressing room and started shooting.
Shoppers fled in a panic or barricaded themselves behind closed doors. When police arrived, they found three people dead — two store employees and Aguilar.
The shooting baffled investigators and acquaintances of Aguilar, a quiet, skinny teenager who graduated from high school less than a year ago and had no previous run-ins with law enforcement.
Aguilar, who had concealed the shotgun in a bag, fired six to nine times. One victim,Brianna Benlolo a 21-year-old single mother, lived half a mile away from Aguilar in the same College Park neighborhood, but police said they were still trying to determine what, if any, relationship they had.
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UPDATE: Police in Columbia Maryland have identified Darion Marcus Aguilar, 19, as the suspect in Saturday’s shooting in a Mall in Columbia.
USA Today reports:
Howard County Police Chief Bill McMahon said Aguilar, who lived in College Park, Md., fatally shot two people at a store before killing himself.Police are trying to determine whether Aguilar knew either of the victims, who are identified as Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, Md., and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Mt Airy, Md. Investigators have confirmed that Johnson had recently moved from Ellicott City.
The Police Chief says:
"We have not been able to verify any type or relationship between him and our victims. That is an open question"
The shooter used a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun that he legally bought in December to kill the two victims. Aguilar arrived at the shopping mall by cab around 10:15 am and reports of gunshots came in an hour later.
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The two victims who were shot in the mall yesterday afternoon have been identified. The Police identified the two killed as Brianna Benlolo, 21, of College Park, Md. and Tyler Johnson, 25, of Ellicott City, Md. Both worked at Zumiez, a store on the upper level of the mall. These two including the shooter lost their lives yesterday!...................................................................................................................................................................
#Very sad indeed, may their souls R.I.P.
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